This is not about sex
by Ioik
Summary: A predator and his human female have some pretty interesting times together but will it ever be about sex?
1. Chapter 1 I dream of Christian Bale

**Chapter 1 I dream of Christian Bale**

Mist rose from the fathomless floor blocking the view of her feet as she stumbled through the humid jungle. She couldn't remember how long she had been walking for or whence she had come but she was sure about her current path. There was something she needed to reach just out of her grasp, perhaps a someone now she thought about it more.

Her brain was as foggy as the landscape around her and the silence permeating from the trees was really starting to creep the young woman out. _What sort of jungle was quiet? The dangerous, predator filled kind, _she mentally shrugged.

"Susan!" A dark and mysterious looking man shouted down from the branch

of a nearby tree.

"Yes?"

"It is I!"

"It is I who?"

"Christian Bale..."

"Christian Bale?" Susan paused, taken aback by the man's response. "What are you doing here? You know I heard that clip of you screaming at that sound guy on Youtube. Badly done, Mr Bale. Badly done."

"That wasn't me."

"Oh yes it was. Don't try to den-"

"I mean, that was a different Christian Bale." He swung down from the tree on a conveniently placed vine and instantly snapped her up into his arms. "I'm… your Christian Bale."

"My… Oh this is a dream." Susan grinned wickedly before crushing her lips against Christian Bale's in a passionate kiss. "Oh, Christian Bale… your even better than I imagined."

"Oh but you are imagining." Bale kissed her again, carrying his creator off to some love nest.

"RAWR!" Someone roared in the distance before the floor began to quiver with that someone's every running step.

"What the hell was that?" Christian Bale looked alarmed.

Susan sighed and frowned miserably before escaping from Bale's delightfully muscular arms.

"I knew it was to good to be true." The young woman dusted her white dress begrudgingly. "He always has to stick his nose into everything. Can't even enjoy a good sexual fantasy without that ogre stomping into it an-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your angsting monologue Susan dearest but pray tell, who or what are you talking about?"

"Oh you'll see…" Susan took a few steps back and watched as a dreadlocked monster flew out of nowhere at Christian Bale and instantly began to dismember the actor.

When the Yautja was finally sure the many pieces of Christian Bale were equally dead, he clicked to himself menacingly, turning his head sharply in a spray of jingling tresses to watch Susan with predatory eyes.

"Bad boy." Susan scolded with an accusing finger and instantly received a disgruntled snarl from the beast before it turned its back on the woman and skulked away.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Susan, stared fixatedly at the wall as the murky realms of sleep cleared. As her brain finally kicked in she realized that the wall was moving, or more like breathing, and an unusual green speckled colour she didn't remember it being the night previous.

Moving a finger towards the obstacle she paused midway in her action to close that finger into a tight fist and punched the warm flesh as hard as her humanly frail biceps could pump so early in the morning. The creature grunted in its slumber at the strike and rolled around onto his back scooping his human along the way and depositing her on his chest to cuddle like a teddy bear.

"Bastard!" Susan attempted to flail against his tight grip only to be crushed further atop the smooth skinned alien.

Attempting to breath, whilst her face was being held uncomfortably amongst his pectoral region, she calmed her thoughts and began the formulation of a plan. _The ticklish spot!_ She quickly reasoned; slinking her hands up over the Yautja's monstrous arms she felt around for the mandibles, nervously as if he might chew, and allowed them to guide her down to the sweet spot just under the forehead plating.

As she stroked and teased at the sensitive skin there was a sudden and deafening noise that could only be described as a high pitched screech of joyous agony. Along with the sound came stunned movement from the slumbering beast and Susan discovered she could fly. Or at least she discovered she could become airborne for a brief amount of time before having to hit the ground, hard.

* * *

Susan opened her eyes for the second time that morning and was greeted by something golden. As unconsciousness departed and her brain began to fill with thoughts she was immediately struck by a particularly loud brain wave that felt like pain, everywhere. The second thought came briefly after the first, and a moment where in multiple gods were cursed for existing, and consisted of basic recognition skills. That gold she was seeing was a pair of sunken eyes looking very sorry for themselves.

"You bastard." Susan tapped, what she hopped was a single finger and not the three she was currently seeing, against the space where the predator's nose would have been if he were human. "That really hurt."

The Yautja flinched at the light tap and yowled apologetically, much like a puppy. Mr big tough scourge of the universe was feeling very sorry for himself and lowered his head accordingly before sulking off somewhere out of sight.

"Don't leave me!" Susan instantly recoiled at the volume of her own voice ringing between her ears. "I might be dead… Actually I'm pretty sure I am dead… this feels like hell."

"It's just a bump, Su'ven." A deep gravelly voice hummed from some distant expanse that was probably nearby.

"Say's the one who bumped me." She attempted to sit but instantly regretted the action and dropped like an anvil back onto the bed. "You couldn't possibly understand how much this hurts, you unsympathetic bastard."

"Be quiet a moment female." Unsympathetic bastard grumbled as he returned into view holding what appeared to be a compress and a very large needle.

"Woah, Woah, Woah!" Susan rolled off the bed in a sudden burst of life preserving instinctual energy and poked out from her hiding place at the brute wishing her death. "What do you think you're going to do with that mister because believe me nothing that big is ever going to penetrate me!"

Mister tilted his head curiously and purred with amusement as he examined the comparatively small instrument in his paw.

"Your males must have a harder time than I ever suspected to encourage their mates." He looked back at his startled human, continuing to eye the needle suspiciously. "I am unsure whether I should be impressed or-"

"Don't bring sex into this! This has nothing to do with sex!" Susan flung something resembling a squirrel pelt at the Yautja. "You always have to make everything about sex. Needles are not the same as penis'. They don't poke into… they don't inject... Oh fuck."

The sex-crazed male rumbled loudly with alien laughter at the female's antics and thumped his chest to show his enjoyment of the situation.

"I'm glad you find this funny." Susan grit her teeth and attempted her best scowl. "But you'll never be able to compare to a human man!"

"I agree. I'd never be able to shrink so small" He continued to howl with laughter.

"Bastard."

"At least you are feeling better."

"Better? This is not better!" She grumbled. "I'm just to frightened and incensed to allow myself to feel pain."

"Here." Bastard tossed her the compress, a smile on his smug alien face.

Susan watched him with suspicion a moment before making a grab for the blue pad on the bed. With compress in hand she swiftly cracked the seal inside and pushed the soothingly cool material against her bruised skull with a pleased sigh.

"Wy'strn."

"Yes?" Wy'strn hummed.

"Thanks."


	2. Chapter 2 Rednex

**This has become my new insomnia project. Written between the hours of 4am and 7am.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 Rednex**

Clutching Wy'strn's hunting knife close to her naked bosom Susan crept into the bathroom, hoping to go undetected by the weapons owner. The owner in question was currently submerged in a vat of what appeared to be mud mixed with black ink and watered down with cola. It wreaked, of old flannel and something equivalent to DKNY men's cologne, and the crazy bastard was smothered in the stuff.

After having witnessed this peculiar grooming technique of his multiple times over the past year Susan was sure it had something to do with women. More or less everything he did had something to do with women but this activity more so. He only bothered with this ritual when a certain vessel came to dock with the clan ship and that certain vessel contained… yes, women.

However, after extensive reconnaissance of the sexually driven predators stink soak days the young woman had discovered an interesting fact. Apparently the stench didn't just make her eyes water but also his own rendering him, for the duration of his bath time, completely blind. This presented the perfect opportunity to borrow his hunting knife, during one of the only times he wasn't wearing it, and get some use from it.

Sure, living on a big alien ship in space was epic and full of adventure but the drawbacks were enough to drive a young woman crazy. Yautja do not grow body hair, they do not understand the need to shampoo and condition but worst of all Wy'strn was incredibly unsympathetic about the need to shave. He seemed to assume she just got hairless like that from magical energies swaning around the place. Whatever that bastard wanted to believe didn't change the reality of the situation and in actuality Susan had been periodically using the least dangerous of the predator's shark point objects to get the job done.

Peering warily over at the monster in his black lagoon, back turned away from her, Susan activated the shower and quickly set about soaking her skin at light speed. Within a few seconds she set the blade to the skin of her underarm and stroked it across the hairline removing the horrid follicles.

"Su'van?"

"Yes?" She squeaked.

"I do hope that is not my hunting knife I hear."

"Why can it talk now?"

"Su'van…"

"Fine, fine!" She huffed and sagged in defeat. "I'll put it back in a minute ok."

"Now."

"God!" Susan threw her hands up in exasperation. "What is your problem?"

"I'm glad you agree I am your God." He grunted in alien mirth. "I was beginning to think I would never train you."

"Bastard."

"Leave it on the side. I will clean it off when I am done."

"Yeah…" Susan flipped him the finger before muttering under her breath. "But I'm not leaving one armpit hairy…"

Swiping hurriedly at her opposite underarm the young woman bit her lip holding back a curse. Blood was trickling rapidly down her side, washed away with the showers down pour, and the blade was quickly discarded to rebound on the tiles below. Before she was aware what was happening a tall muscular form was looming over her, drawn by the scent of human blood, hitting the switch to deactivate the shower with one hand and checking over her wound with another.

"It seems you are forever injured." Wy'strn sighed.

* * *

Just over a year ago back on earth, somewhere in Phoenix, Susan dismounted the city bus letting her luggage on wheels clatter down loudly behind her. She really couldn't be asked to pick the thing up; it was too heavy really, especially for someone so lazy. Riffling around inside her handbag she finally produced a sheet of paper with a crude drawing of a map and some poorly written directions strewn across it and began attempting to decipher the scribbles. The fact she was wearing sunglasses at this late stage of the evening really wasn't giving her any help.

It took her possibly the good part of an hour to realize she had walked past the hotel three or four times, the sunglasses again not helping, but finally she had arrived at the shittiest of shit hole hotels in the universe ever.

"God this must be the shittiest of shit hole hotels in the universe ever." Susan slid her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose briefly to stare at the building in disgust. "Three stars my arse."

"Can I help you ma'am?" The doorman glared, obviously having heard her previous statement.

"No thanks." The young woman waved an apologetic hand and ducked inside the hotel doors on a beeline for the front desk.

"Welcome to The Grand Ducktail!" A bubbly big haired american woman beamed. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Yeah." Susan leaned up against the counter as if she was bored but secretly she was just resting her breasts on it.

"Name?"

"Susan Bacardi."

"One moment please." Way to happy for her own good grinned and began clawing at her keyboard with eager manicured fingers. "Here we are. Susan Bacardi, twelve nights in economy class, room 239. I'll just get your key."

"Thanks."

"Breakfast is served between seven and nine, dinner at eight o'clock and the kitchen is open until eleven am for room service. There you are, ma'am." Bouncy passed across the room key. "Your rooms on the third floor, the elevator is just over there. Can I help you with anything else?"

"No… wait yes." Susan leaned in closer. "Do you do video rental things in this hotel?"

"We offer a small selection of rentals yes." Happy sunshine flashed her pearly whites. "Just use your remote to open the menu and browse the selection. The purchase will be added to your bill."

"Is the bill itemised?"

"Um… no ma'am we normally just mark it as a rental." Bubbles was suspicious.

"Good, good." Susan chuckled nervously. "I'll be off then."

* * *

Susan wandered back and forth between the bathroom and bedroom in various states of undress. She'd been in the city for a few days now and planned to enjoy an evening's activity of drinking and grinding ones self up against a complete stranger, hopefully an attractive one. She would have done it sooner but apparently the shit hole hotel was surrounded by what she believed to be cowboy bars. _Nothing sexy about a cowboy without a horse_, she rolled her eyes in thought and pulled a boot on, _unless he's hung like a horse._

Having finally located a nightclub on her trekking of the town she had buzzed with excitement all day. Now she was finally there it wasn't quite what she had hoped for. Apparently tonight was line-dancing night and the cowboys without horses were in full force.

"Shit." Susan sighed and wandered to the bar. "Tequila! Many!"

"Right." The barmen trailed her form with an amused smirk at the skimpy outfit of sparkles. "Wrong place?"

"Wrong century." She rolled her eyes and watched him perform tricks with the tequila bottle secretly hoping he would drop it.

"You British?"

"Yeah."

"Nice." He poured four shots at once. "Can hold your liquor?"

"I have hands don't I?" Susan reached for the first miniature class and downed the contents disinterestedly.

"Impressive." Mr show off grinned and leaned in closer. "Bet you can't keep that up though."

"Hah!" Susan shook an agreeing finger. "Me to. At some point my stomach is going to be so swollen with liquids I'll die of fluidic overdose."

"Sexy _and_ a smartass." Dark eyed and dreamy yet an arrogant prick watched her down the next three shots in a row before lifting the tequila bottle and shaking it enticingly. "Another?"

* * *

Susan was walking or to the sober passerby swaying one foot in front of the other. It was late, or early depending on your point of view, and she hadn't begun thinking about where she walking yet, which is why her current whereabouts were in an alleyway.

"If ha'n't b'n fro Cotton-Eye Joe, I'ld b'n married lo' time 'go, wherre d'ya ca from wherre d'ya go, wherre d'ya, where d'ya… Wherre'm I?" Susan slurred merrily. "Tha' shhhit ho' d'nay lo'k this shhhitty wehen I lef'."

Susan stumbled onwards like a stubborn mule and walked into something. Apparently walls now came in invisible colour and made clicky noises.

"The fuck?" The young woman's body swirled a moment before settling into one spot. "A' you OK?"

She was evidently talking to a dead man in the process of being skinned and missing his skull.

"Tha' don' lo'k good man." She waved a finger knowingly and staggered closer. "Ya ins'des a' outs'des an' wha' happ'd to ya he'd! I kno' wha' yoo ne'd. Yoo ne'd a drrrink! Or a do'tor. I forge' which."

A strange garbled noise, similar to purring and an alien attempting to stifle a guffaw, hovered to her left. She frowned attempting to fathom the sound then flapped a hand wildly in its direction.

"Shoo cat!" Susan tilted sideways from her flapping and tipped completely onto the invisible coloured wall. "Oh, warrm."

The purring sound immediately stopped, as the young woman curled into the warmth, and stayed silent for a few minutes whilst the wall waited to be let go of. When it was sure the woman was starting to become a permanent fixture it attempted to growl spooking the drunk awake and having the added bonus of getting her to let go.

"Shit." Susan scratched her head and looked around at her surroundings. "Where tha' fuck am I?"


	3. Chapter 3 Women

**I apologize for this chapter being so short. I decided to remove the last scene for the next chapter.**

**Random bit of story pronunciation:**

**Wy'strn – Wii – st – ron (Like Winston)**

**Rat'ein – Rat – iain (Like a rat named Iain)**

**Lari – Lar – e (Like Larry)**

**So now you know they're really Winston, Iain and Larry with an accent.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 Women**

"Hunt brother why are you here?" A swirl in the air clicked to another swirl looking through a third floor window. "The afternoon is no time to hunt."

"The female stumbled upon my kill this evening." Swirl two chattered back. "I was deliberating my next action."

"I see." Swirlykins responded. "Did the female see you?"

"No. I was cloaked." He shifted uneasily. "But she touched me."

"Where?"

"Does that matter?"

"It does if you enjoyed it." Swirlykins grunted with mirth.

"The female was heavily inebriated. I do not think she knew her actions."

"If the female has not alerted the others of her species it is doubtful she will recall the matter when she awakes. If she does have some memories she will no doubt pass them off as dreams." Swirlykins moved closer to watch the human woman sprawled, butt naked, facedown on the bed and snoring loudly. "This species are easy to forget."

"I hope you are right, Wy'strn." Swirl two sighed. "I would take no pleasure in killing an unarmed female. It lacks honour."

"You could always accept the creatures as a new pet."

"I would forget to feed it."

The pair froze a moment as the human they were spying upon suddenly finished snoring and opened her eyes. She groaned loudly, bringing a hand up to the back of her head and laid perfectly still for a few minutes before lifting herself up onto her knees with a curse.

"The female is distracted by pain." Wy'strn clattered. "She gives no signs of worry. You are unmemorable to the female, Rat'ein. As you are all."

"What is she doing?" Rat'ein ignored his hunt brothers provoke for something bewildering.

Both paused in their conversation, a jangle of metal rings sounding as both titled their head in unison, attempting to understand what they were seeing. The woman had turned on the small console in the corner and started up a recording of two other humans in a state of undress.

* * *

"Hunt brothers?" A creamy coloured Yautja cocked his head seeing the expression on his companion's faces. "You are flushed. Has something occurred?"

Wy'strn and Rat'ein shuffled uneasily under the scrutinious stare of their shipmate and continued to undress. Before reaching the hunting vessel both predators had made a pack not to speak of what they had seen. Neither would be able to live down the torturous mocking of their peers if anybody discovered what they had witnessed. Both simply desired to wash thoroughly, in the communal baths, and forget.

"Nothing has occurred, Lari." Wy'strn feigned a calm collected front. "We have merely been sparing."

"Is there not enough game to quench your blood thirst on this planet?" Lari scratched at a mandible in unconvinced study.

"There are many good specimens." Wy'strn finished stripping and headed for the steaming pools. "As you can tell by my magnificent trophies."

"There is nothing magnificent about your puny skulls." Lari snorted. "If you ever wish to see a real trophy I would be more than willing to present you my extensive collection. The females often visit my wall multiple times."

"Sounds to me like you are trying to seduce me, Lari." Wy'strn cackled darkly. "Perhaps you are attracted to my powerful stature."

Lari growled, pumping his muscles aggressively, before storming from the baths in a huff. Wy'strn continued to chuckle to himself, sucking his victory dry of amusement, he couldn't remember how long it had been since he had, had so much fun. The moment however was instantly disrupted as Rat'ein stepped into the pool and settled besides him. The Yautja appeared dejected and a little paled.

"Rat'ein, you appear haunted." The larger male glanced at his friend sidelong. "No one will know."

"That is not why I am ashamed." Rat'ein uttered almost inaudibly.

"There is no shame in curiosity." Wy'strn shrugged. "We have learned something new about the ooman females today. Accept it as a lesson of their culture."

"But… Wy'strn," Rat'ein ducked his head down so his chin was submerged in water. "I-I think I enjoyed it."

Wy'strn was powerless against his body's reaction to his companion's statement. His eyes shot wide open, head tilting to stare directly at the submerged hunter, but he managed to catch his bodies attempt to lean away by bunching his muscles tightly.

"Rat'ein…" The alarmed predator attempted to flatten his voice to neutrality. "That's borderline sick. These ooman females are so small and lack tone. They have manes for Paya's sake! Their teeth are blunt!"

"I know!" Rat'ein shut his eyes and hammered his forehead trying to knock sense into himself. "But … it's exotic…"

"Exotic?" Wy'strn no longer found himself able to control the volume of his voice. "Exotic is six foot five with orange spots!"

Rat'ein wined painfully before ducking his head completely under the water. Wy'strn continued to fume above water, as he tried to reason the situation, turning to watch the bubbles rising where Rat'ein was hiding. With a deep sigh he reached into the water and plucked the smaller Yautja back to the surface.

"Do not drown yourself over this." Wy'strn huffed. "We will cure you. You have not had a female yet have you?"

"I've had lots of-"

"Cut the macho talk. How many? Truthfully?"

"None." Rat'ein attempted to squeeze his head into his chest via the neck.

"Well, I like you Rat'ein and I have a sister that likes me."

"No, no, no! I can get my own females!" The smaller male jumped to standing causing a miniature tidal wave to smack his fellow head on.

"Really?" Wy'strn shook the moisture from his face. "How long have you been blooded for?"

"Four years."

"And none? Even I had a taste in my first year."

"I have not spent much time on the clan ship. My sire told me to do as many hunts as possible for now so I will have a good reputation."

"Sounds to me the elder wants to keep the females to himself Rat'ein."

"No he wouldn- would he?"

"I've heard about paternal jealously happening before." Wy'strn rolled his eyes knowingly.

"That fucking-"

"Yes. And now he's made you sick. Wanting ooman females over Yautja females."

"I- I-" Rat'ein sighed, hiding his eyes behind a clawed paw. "Damn it! What's your sisters name?"


	4. Chapter 4 Dude, that's my sister!

**Gor'ah – Gor - e – ah – ha (Ok its really Gloria)**

**Can anybody finally guess how this is going to turn out and how Wy'strn becomes so entwined with Susan? Major impressed respect to whoever can and maybe your own character.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 Dude, that's my sister!**

"Sister!" Wy'strn rubbed his cheek against the larger females chest before being shoved away. "I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. It has only been four days since my transmission."

"Yes, and I thought you were dying or in serious danger blood brother." The female growled dangerously. "Why have you got me on this fucking planet?"

"Gor'ah," Wy'strn flirted much like a small pup attempting to gain milk from an unwilling mother, "why would I be in mortal danger?"

"I can think of a good reason right now!" Gor'ah spat angrily. "You know I dislike the ooman world. It is to cold and smells vile."

"Ah yes, that thought had slipped my m-"

Both Yautja paused their conversation to sniff the air. Wy'strn was the first to turn on his heels having located the source of the odour.

"Lari!" He beamed in obvious amusement. "Is that mating musk I smell? I thought I already made my lack of desire for you clear."

"Shut up Wy'strn!" Lari snarled whilst simultaneously pumping his muscles attempting to appear sexually desirable to the female in the room. "Lady Huntress why are you here on a male hunting vessel?"

"Not for you Lari." Wy'strn flapped a hand in the universal gesture of shooing. "She is here to see me."

"I doubt that!" Lari roared in a show of aggression entirely for the females benefit. "Lady Huntress do not waste your time with such a puny male. I would be more than willing to show you my trophy collection. It is quite-"

"Lari! That's my sister!" Wy'strn shivered from revulsion. "She is not going anywhere near that trophy collection you are forever attempting to present to me. We both know what your party piece is at the end of that show."

Lari faltered a second before his snarl remerged as a deeper interpretation and swiped out at the mocking male in front of him. Before he was able to connect fist to face of his opponent however a larger hand snuck up behind him, grabbing him by the collar and lifted him with ease. Gor'ah flung the shocked male dispassionately through the open door whence he had come before settling her attentions back on her smug faced brother.

"If this is not important I really will kill you brother!"

"Oh it is I promise." Wy'strn suddenly appeared very serious. "My hunt brother Rat'ein is in deadly need."

"No."

"I haven't told you the whole story yet sister."

"No."

There was a pause in which Wy'strn pouted and Gor'ah glared unflinchingly.

"FINE!" Gor'ah scowled. "Explain and I will listen but the answer is still 'no'!"

"Thank you sister." Wy'strn grinned devilishly and rubbed himself against her chest again, this time greeted with a pat on the head. "Rat'ein's father has kept him from female companionship for many years."

"He is untouched?" Gor'ah's interest suddenly perked.

To deflower a hunter was a great honour to females as well as pleasurable. A hunter new to the act of mating was submissive and had more to prove than the experienced males. They did as they were told, were undoubtedly less aggressive and macho about the whole situation and most importantly they still had the juvenile stammer to please their mate more than once in a single sitting.

"He is depressingly untouched sister." Wy'strn sighed. "The poor bastard has even started looking at the wildlife."

"That is borderline sick."

"That's what I told him!"

"Hmm," Gor'ah teased a mandible with a rogue finger, "I will view this specimen, blood brother. Where is he?"

"Hunting."

"Give me his transmitter frequency. I will view the hunter inaction and decide his worth."

"Thank you sister." Wy'strn purred happily against his sister's chest.

"Get off Wy'strn, you are not a child any longer. What would the others say if they saw you behaving like a pup?"

"They'd call me a lucky bastard." Wy'strn chuffed but shooed none the less.

* * *

Rat'ein peered into the third floor window at the dishevelled mess the human female had left the room in. The woman in questioned had disappeared behind a second door a few minutes previous, the sounds of running water and obnoxious singing letting the young hunter know she was amidst her cleansing cycle.

Looking from side to side, even though he was invisible and nobody could see him, Rat'ein prised the window open silently and dropped inside the small hotel room. The excitement the intrusion brought hummed in his ears as a hammering of his double heartbeat and fuelled his adrenaline. Skulking forward he crouched besides a tangle of clothes strewn across the floor, when the female had stripped to wash, and sniffed the air delicately around the mass.

Toying with the garments he finally located what he was looking for and lifted a small piece of cloth to dangle in front of his face. Looking about the room suspiciously, Rat'ein moved his opposite hand to the back of his mask and pulled it loose with a pop and hiss. The cloak automatically dispersed around his body leaving him vulnerable to the eyes of humans but the hunter was little interested in his own visibility.

Stretching his mandibles to release the tension caused by their previous cramped conditions he moved the females clothing into the clutches of his scent glands and sniffed deeply at the aroma. _So this was a females scent_, he pondered before something struck him on the back of the head and shattered around him.

Whilst the young male had been encapsulated in the realms of heavenly smells the human woman had finished her shower and exited the bathroom only to discover a strange looking man fondling her knickers. Of course, like any annoyed woman would, she reached for the lamp and smacked him over the head with it.

"Bastard!" Susan dropped the last fragments of the destroyed lamp to catch her towel before it dropped. "What do you think you're doing in m-"

Susan's words hitched in the back of her throat as the man leaped from his sprawled position on the floor to stoop on the bed in a spray of locks. For a moment her brain completely stopped before a little voice in the back of her skull screamed:

"ALIEN!" Susan's inner voice broke through her general consciousness and decided to autopilot the woman for self-preservation motives.

Rat'ein made a squealed noise of freight at the situation, his own inner voice mentally scolding him for getting caught perving. He watched in bewilderment as the woman ran for a device on the dresser and began dialling buttons. Immediately recognising the machinery as a communication device he pounced forward clutching her wrist in his powerful paws, forcing her to drop the receiver, and pushed her as gently as possible against the wall. His mind whirled with protocol and regulation but his sense of honour shook its head furiously at the thought of severing the woman's ties to the living world. Instead he fumbled for the pieces of broken English he had come to understand through his morbid interactions with his pray. The two words that were uttered more frequently than most seemed appropriate for this situation.

"No, stop!" He barked.

Susan froze as the creature spoke, completely ignoring the fact her towel had slipped off during her restraining, and shook in a mixture of chill and dread. Rat'ein held her eye contact a moment longer, before releasing his grip on the subdued woman, and took a tender step backwards shaking his head gently at the woman.

"What are you?" Susan's voice returned as a murmur.

Rat'ein merely shook his head again in response; silently attempting to communicate she'd be safer not knowing. Susan hiccupped, as confused tears brimmed to the surface, watching the alien with terrified eyes all the way until he slipped out the window.

Suddenly, as if she'd just stumped a toe particularly badly, those tears burst forth followed by a cry of shaken nerves. Slipping to the floor Susan wrapped her arms about her knees and pulled herself into a tight ball, attempting to bring herself comfort.

Outside, Rat'ein listened to the human's sobs under the compression of his own fears before pocketing the underwear still clutched in his hand and reigniting his cloak. As he hopped to a rooftop the hunter suddenly paused in his tracks realizing his mask was not attached to his person.

Silently cursing he turned back to look at the third floor window realising his emergence in the room a second time would probably give the small female a heart attack. The situation was unavoidable, however, leaving technology for the human's to find was punishable by death.

Rat'ein sighed, preparing to leap back onto the fire escape, as a huge swirl in the air landed perfectly besides him. The swirl clicked curiously a moment before materializing in front of the young male.

It was a female, a very large interested looking female. Rat'ein had to double take before his hormones automatically de-cloaked himself and began an intoxicating plume of musk. Even if his mind was preoccupied the body was more than willing for female attentions.

"Rat'ein?" The female rumbled pleasingly.

"Yes!" Rat'ein could barely control his excitement.

"I am Gor'ah." Gor'ah smirked at the male's response.

_Definitely a virgin_, she concluded and began an inspection. Rat'ein remained perfectly still as the larger female circled him, appraising his physical form, and began an alluring purr. Gor'ah purred back to the young male signalling her interest and caressed a clawed digit down the hunters back making him squirm.

"Where is your mask hunter?"

"Uh?" Rat'ein's brain turned up a blank to the question before the reasoning part came alive for a split second. "I am hunting blind this night. For the challenge!"

"The ooman's are not challenge enough you must resort to such means of entertainment hunter?" Gor'ah brushed her body against this for a split second. "You must be a great hunter Rat'ein. I am impressed."

"So am I…" Rat'ein grinned before being pinned to the rooftop.


	5. Chapter 5 The mask Somebody stop me

**I'm sorry, I started this back in the middle of December but things have been a foot, or not in some cases which is just annoying. Then I was going to make this an extra special long one but I just can't be asked to stare at this scene anymore. **

**Oh, and one thing I would like to say.**

**If you have read something about me that has been stated in someone's story do not believe everything you read. There are two sides to a story and one will always be bias against the other because we have things we are ashamed of or perhaps are ashamed of ourselves. **

**I have no interest in joining in a drama or defending myself to anybody but those directly involved. If another party wishes to express their feelings about a situation and slander the other parties that is there prerogative and let them be judged by their own actions.**

**About my own judgement, nobody but myself, my mother and possibly God has the right to judge me. I will not explain myself to a public audience because that would only make all parties involved have their dirty laundry dragged through the mud and believe me everybody is good and soggy.**

**If you want to stop reading my stories because of this then that is your right but otherwise I would appreciate if no more unkind comments were thrown in my direction because that is my right.**

**If you have no idea what I am talking about then I apologize for having you read that. I'm also sorry I haven't checked this chapter for errors. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5 The mask (Somebody stop me)**

Wy'strn plunged from one rooftop to the other keeping a constant vigilance on his prey. The human in question was ducking and diving through the cities alleyways at a pace that could only be described as get the fuck out of here speed.

Pausing to catch his breath by a dumpster, the man doubled over and puked up his stomach's contents before straightening himself up and wiping his blood soaked hands down the length of his once white wife beater. Someone had died tonight at the hands of the would be mugger, someone with a wife and family waiting for him back home though he would never make it back that night or any other.

Either way, the particulars of this human's worthiness as prey did not strike a cord in the hunters racing heart. He smelt the blood in the air, sensed the heightened fear that permeated the atmosphere and more importantly saw the weapon hidden on the man's person. Now, if only the human could prove to be a particularly skilled fighter tonight's chill air might well have been worth the Yautja's discomfort.

Dropping down two storeys from the roof, Wy'strn landed majestically in an unseen puddle, causing water to stray out around his form and make the cloak shielding his body shimmer in cascades of blue. He clicked to himself menacingly as the spooked human spun on his heels, eyes wide with terror, and watched in disbelief as the monster stood to its full height. Wy'strn spread his arms wide and roared with all his might as the cloak failed paralyzing the little man to the spot. Taking a jaunty step towards the man, tilting his head to admire his future trophy, the hunter growled teasingly at his prey.

The man, finally realizing he was standing still rather than running, squealed like a frightened piggy before brandishing a stained red machete. Wy'strn cackled with alien mirth, releasing something equally sharp and pointy from his left gauntlet. Sweat began to pour down the human male's forehead as he blinked furiously at the monster stalking around him in a circular motion.

"What the fuck are you?" His words came as a hoarse whisper.

"Bored." Wy'strn growled his response and dived for the human's throat.

A scuffle, spray of blood and a yelp from the decorated hunter later he stood victorious over his kill. Bending low he plucked up the human by a lifeless foot and dangled the body upside down, mockingly, causing random coins and objects to fall from the rag dolls pockets with a tickling jangle.

Glaring down at the wound he received Wy'strn snorted at the trickle of blood descending his torso and groaned in annoyance. He would have to come up with some big, elaborate and highly exaggerated story to explain his latest scar if he didn't want to become the hunting parties newest joke. Shoulders sagging at the less than entertaining battle, that had occurred between him and the puny male, Wy'strn shook the dead human a few times for good measure, causing his limbs to fray like a dancing puppet, before setting his trophy back down to the broken concrete.

"_You are going on the darkest corner of my wall_." He clicked angrily and set about flaying the body with a sharpened hunting knife.

Releasing the tendons and connective tissue between the skull and neck Wy'strn tore the man's skull and linked spinal cord with a sickening crackle and squelch. Admiring the gormless stare protruding from his trophies deceased features the beguiled yautja chirruped merrily before his serenity was disturbed by an irritating beeping sound. Snarling at the chilly night air he swiftly jabbed at the buttons attached to his wrist and answered the bothersome call.

"What?"

"_Hunt brother, I have little time."_

"Rat'ein?" Wy'strn was momentarily surprised. "I believed you were in my sisters company. Has she tired of you already?"

"_She is asleep."_ He audibly sighed.

"And this troubles you?"

"_No."_ Rat'ein sighed again. _"I am glad for it. She has a ferocious appetite and my body is in particular need of rest."_

"Then rest and recuperate for when the sleeping goliath awakes and leave me to my sport."

"_Hunt brother, you know I would not interrupt your hunting but..."_

"But?"

There was another, longer, sigh on the other end of the line.

"_I have, that is, I am troubled."_ Rat'ein continued.

"Don't worry lust for your own kinds females is normal."

"_Wy'strn, I am the utmost serious."_ He urged. _"I have committed a-"_

"You did not mate with a ooman. I am not listening! It is between you and your conscious."

Wy'strn hung up on his friend only to hear that infernal beeping of his communication device start up a second later.

"NO!"

The disgruntled Yautja disconnected a second time and tried to get back to cleaning his trophy, though the beeping continued. After several minutes, of that particularly irritating noise, the brooding male had begun to mutter threats under his breath. The skull, clasped between his tense fingers, was also worse for ware after several failed attempts to remove the excess tissue but at least now he could hang the body go home and beat the shit out of his crazed hunt brother.

"I'm going to kill you Rat'ein." Wy'strn chattered calmly over the reopened line knocking his future victim into stunned silence. "I have the perfect spot for your skull on my wall. Right next to this fucking ooman's."

"_I understand, hunt brother."_ Rat'ein's sigh was so deep this time it caused static over the communiqué. "_I have not mated with an ooman, Wy'strn. My troubles are far worse."_

"I am listening."

"_My mask. It is misplaced."_

There was a long pause where in Wy'strn rubbed the side of his head attempting to dislodge a headache.

"_Hunt brother? Wy'strn?"_

"I am here." He grumbled. "You went back ther?"

"_Yes."_

"You are an idiot."

"_Yes, hunt brother." _Rat'ein relented.

"You will do my ship duties for the next year."

"_Yes, hunt brother."_

"And I will have new bed furs."

"_Yes, hunt brother."_

"And Kracknoc meat."

"_I do not think I can kill a Kracknoc at my current abili-"_

"-You will hunt, kill and butcher a Kracknoc, serve it to me for dinner or die trying!" Wy'strn affirmed.

"_Yes, hunt brother."_

"Good." Wy'strn huffed as he heaved the headless body he had been skinning over a billboard, advertising Phoenix as a great vacationing spot, with the use of cable. "Now that is sorted I will find the female and requisition your mask."

"_Do not harm the female."_

"So you left her alive?" He grumbled again. "Do not tell me what you did to her. The less I know-"

"_I did nothing, hunt brother."_

"'Nothing' does not lose you your mask."

There was another pause as Rat'ein fumbled for words.

"_I stole-"_

"I told you I did not want to-" Wy'strn stared bewildered at his console as if he were staring into his friend's eyes. "A warrior does not steal!"

"_It was an accident! I was only going to smell them and leave but I was distracted and she attacked me from behind then when I escaped-"_ Rat'ein paused as the sounds of laughter punctuated his ears. _"Please, hunt brother, do not laugh at me. The situation is dire."_

"A small ooman female snuck up on a great hunter and attacked him forcing him to flee." Wy'strn continued to laugh. "Perhaps I should be careful when I confront the female in case she wrestles me to the floor."

"_Hunt brother, please do not tell the others."_

"Rat'ein," He paused to draw breath from his convulsive laughter. "I do not think they would believ- I must go."

"_Hunt b-"_

Rat'ein was, once again, disconnected by his comrade though this time with good reason. A vehicle creating a sound even worse than the communicators beeping, accompanied by flashing lights of red and blue, was pulling up outside the building Wy'strn and his trophy were currently upon.


	6. Chapter 6 I'm shaken not stirred

**Bet you weren't expecting me to write a new chapter that fast. Well I'm gonna cram them until Mass Effect 2 comes through my post box because then I don't plan to do anything apart from eating sleeping and taking the occasional toilet break until I have completed that game and bedded Thane Goddamn it!**

* * *

**Chapter 6 I'm shaken not stirred**

Visibly shaken, but no longer crying, Susan continued to sit naked on the hotel floor knee's braced against her chest. Brushing away tears staining her cheeks she muttered reassurances to herself attempting to control the fear.

Taking in an audible gulp of air she ran her fingers through her still damp mane distractedly and fondled with the side of the nearby dresser for support to stand. Lifting herself slowly back onto her feet she continued to lean her weight onto the furniture as the quaking in her legs adverted. She was cold, wet and alone, basically everything she disliked all at once which started to make her angry, no, furious.

Looking to her left she spotted an innocent looking kettle and swiped it from its perch to watch it clatter miserably to the ground in several rebounds. Exerting her misery on a lifeless object had not quelled her rage, which quickly melted back down into a sea of tears. Slamming her fist against the dresser she fought to hold back the onslaught of salty waters and regain some composure.

"Why me?" She asked no one in particular. "Why me…"

She staggered forward towards the bed and collapsed on its unmade form. Swiftly she curled the blanket around her body like a cocoon and lay as still as possible, desperate not to gain attention.

* * *

The night hour was almost nigh as Wy'strn gave the human police force the slip leaving them to admire his latest kill, currently swinging upside down over a billboard. He was still currently deciding the best course of action, for everybody, in this situation as he skirted the rooftops towards the larger hotel building the city offered.

He could take the mask, kill the human and save Rat'ein's honour but lose a little of his dignity. Take the mask and leave the human alive to tell its fellows of the Yautja existence or go home, take a bath and let Rat'ein get his head mounted on some Arbiter's wall. The latter sounded good for him but disloyalty was never a becoming shade of yellow on a warrior, especially when ones sister might find out and knock him blue with splatters of green.

Knowing what must be done Wy'strn snorted miserably as he hopped onto the third floor fire escape just outside the female's window. He was not looking forward to this confrontation especially as it likely meant two unsatisfactory kills for the night.

Squatting outside the open window, Wy'strn watched as his target shook beneath a pile of blankets. His thermal sensor told him the human's temperature was average though the head region appeared to be chilled by the female's hair. Even so, this was fear not cold, he could smell it in the air.

Grunting Wy'strn shook his head at the feeble display and pondered how Rat'ein could have fallen prey to such a creature. The entire situation was impossible, though not in the literal sense, he certainly wished the female would demonstrate some aggressive behaviour to make things a little easier. Though not all was lost, he could still sneak inside and take the mask whilst she was cowering and-

"_You had to decide to get up then."_ Wy'strn grumbled. _"Typical."_

Watching the female roll out of bed, blanket in tow, the hunter decided to re-evaluate the situation once again. He didn't want to kill a non- combative creature, nobody would know but that was beside the point. He would know. He'd feel foolish and as weak as the puny human.

Continuing to scout the female as he formulated a plan, Wy'strn began to chatter his tusks in annoyance, the sound gaining his targets attention for a moment.

"Just crickets." Susan whispered reassurances to herself, though still visibly spooked. "Just crickets. Not… things… big things. Big things don't make such little sounds. Big things make big sounds!"

The human was obviously insane, or at least Wy'strn believed her to be as she continued to gibber to herself about what he translated as 'large fruits'.

"If the big things wanted to get me I'm sure they'd of done it earlier." The woman was momentarily muffled as she tugged a t-shirt down over her head. "Or maybe they're fucking with me. Maybe they're right outside my window… I need a drink."

The now dressed human almost collided with a small fridge by the dresser and pulled the door open hastily reaching for the tiny bottles of alcohol within. Walking back to the bed, several bottles in hand, she paused as something caught her eye. Something pretty and shiny and like any good ADHD carrier she stared dumbstruck at it before dumping the bottles on the bed and bending down to retrieve it.

"Huh." She marvelled at the objects streamline edges. "A penny. Maybe my lucks turning around."

Susan chuckled to herself as she pocketed the penny and pivoted around to face the bed once again. Taking a step forward the young woman kicked something heavy with her bare foot and cursed as her big toe throbbed.

"What the hell wa-" Susan cut off to make a distressed high pitch sound much like a scream attempting to funnel through pillow lined pipes. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Picking up the object only to Frisbee it to the opposite end of the bed she grabbed for a bottle of vodka and downed the single shot before reaching at random for the next bottle. She continued, tossing the empty miniatures behind her with no regard until they were all gone but still her nerves were on fire, again not literally.

"You are not real!" Susan screamed as she flung a bottle of tonic water at the mask. "I don't believe in you! Fuck off!"

As if demanding an object to no longer exist would actually help the situation surprisingly it didn't as the young woman sank back to the floor on her knees. Her eyes were puffy and tear filled as she tugged at her hair follicles but much like the hulk she wasn't going to cry about this. Instead she decided upon turning an interesting shade of puce and then did the inevitable.

"Where's my stupid freakin' purse!" She stood angrily and attempted to do three things at once. "Fuck you socks! Don't get on my feet then see if I care! My feet can just go bareback!"

Shoe's on, no socks and jacket on back, inside out, the woman stormed over to her purse on the bedside table and hooked it over her shoulder. Turning to leave she paused in her tracks to glare at the alien mask and point an accusing finger.

"You, buddy, are coming with me so I can keep an eye on you!" Susan shook her finger for good measure and pocketed the device. "Freakin' fucktard perverts! I knew they were everywhere but this is really taking the biscuit and spitting on it. Freakin' fucktard perverts from space! There's no goddamn romance left in the universe! Where's _my_ mister Darcy?"

And she left. To get drunk. Leaving a bewildered Yautja still staring in through her window like a traumatized peeping tom.


	7. Chapter 7 Book 'em and cook 'em

**Ok. I apologize for this chapter. It was supposed to be really dark and unamusing but I can't help myself. I seriously didn't start out looking to take the piss but it's just in my gene's.**

**Warning: I'm not going to tell you what I am warning you about because that would ruin the chapter but I'm warning you that there is some material relating to nasty things, lots of swearing, general violence and humour where it shouldn't be. If you're offended by any of those things (if you're offended by humour WTF?) please don't read this because you'll only cry and send me hate mail and I laugh at hate mail so that'll just piss you off more. Thus I'm now warning you not to create a paradox.**

**A paradox can collapse the universe you know.**

**Oh and ME2 = better than sex though not the really steamy kind because nothing beats that or so I tell hubby.**

* * *

**Chapter 7 Book 'em and cook 'em**

"Hunt brother? Wy'strn…" Rat'ein sighed as he realized his friend had once again disengaged the comm. line.

Alone, and oddly lonely, Rat'ein balled his fists tight before releasing over and over until the instinct towards action passed. Running out like a fool now would only make him appear guilty or disrespectful towards the female currently slumbering in his bed. Either way, he was in trouble; hopefully the biggest of his problems would continue to sleep peacefully though something inside him realized he would never be such a lucky hunter.

"May your hunt be swift and your execution honourable." He mumbled half-heartedly. "And may Paya no longer grant such interesting times."

"Prayers for my blood brother?" Gor'ah growled behind the young hunter, like a panther in the shadows ready to pounce.

"Gor'ah." Rat'ein stiffened as he felt her warm breath, dangerously, against the back of his neck. "You have woken."

"My eyes and ears have been open for sometime."

There was a pause whilst the air thickened though no silence was heard. An acute thrumming reverberated inside the female's chest cavity and punctured the hunter's senses like a warning shot to the brain. Closing his eyes, Rat'ein pulled in a deep breath and prepared his body for an assault far worse than the female's idea of lovemaking.

* * *

Dragging her handbag along the damp and dingy concrete, Susan gave the occasional sniff of misery but no tears fell. Her eyes were glued to her feet, marching one in front of the other though she did not see the untied shoelace.

Instead, the young woman resigned herself to wallowing in piteous memories and ponderings. The kind that only leads to depression, in an otherwise already depressed person, attempting to remove themselves from such a depressing state by creating two negatives in the hopes they will mathematically equal a positive.

Yes, she had been there before but experience was not going to break through that black cloud of misery to inform her irrational thinking that mathematics and emotions were nigh compatible. Especially when mathematics had always been such a cause of misery through the early years. _Ah, Mrs Jackson_, she momentarily smiled at the thought of her old maths teacher and the gum she used to try and flick into her ratty hair every time she turned towards the black board. Gone were the days.

"They sure are." Susan lifted her handbag up onto a shoulder, with a wide grin, having forgotten her previous misery. "Maybe I should become a teac-"

"OK," a twitching mess of ruffled hair and equally ruffled clothes stuttered in her direction. "Just… just, hand over the bag and… uh."

"And you won't tab me with that big fuck off knife?" Susan found herself mesmerised by the blade being held in its owners shaking grip.

"Yeah… sure." Twitchy licked his lips furiously, as if attempting to eat his own face. "Just… the bag, money, jewellery anything I can sell."

"Sure, but uh… this is going to sound crazy here." She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the mocking she was about to receive. "There's this mask thing in my bag and well… the aliens are probably going to want that."

"What the fuck are you talking about lady?"

"Look I'll show you." Susan reached round for her bag and retrieved the mask. "They left it behind when they stole my knickers."

There was a pause in which twitchy twitched and Susan deliberated whether or not she should fear underwear stealing aliens or drug addicts with knives more.

"Look, I need a fix." Twitchy cocked an eyebrow. "I think you need a fix to but only one of us is getting one. Give me all your dollars and I'll just be on my way so you can get back to Obi'wan."

"Sure," Susan sighed. "Is forty enough?"

"If that's what you got that's what I'm taking." Twitchy snatched for the bills and started running before stopping mid stride and shouting behind him. "Thank you!"

"Yeah," she rubbed at her temples and replaced her wallet back into its recess. "Fuck you to."

Looking around at her environment Susan came swiftly to the realization she was in yet another alleyway. Dually she was also standing in dog excrement.

"Shit."

Moving to a wall, not blocked by various pieces of junk, she began wiping the mess off of her sole and onto the bare bricks cursing all the while. The sun was starting to come up but this didn't make very much difference other than to transcend the sky above an interesting shade of navy. The high raised buildings surrounding the alleyway blocked off the stars climb until at its peak and continued the gloom of shadow about the streets. A near by lamp shuddered on and off intermittently at the end of the alleyway creating a disco feel whilst a neon advertisement for 'Seedy Bookstore' buzzed and glowed an off red colour. The lights, the sights and the thick stench that clung to her skin was almost enough to work the upchuck button. How had she not noticed this before? Oh right, misery clouds.

Exhaling an aggravated burst of air Susan straightened her bag on her shoulder and started walking. She needed to find a bar or an off licence still open at six in the morning. She highly doubted there was one in this alleyway but you never can tell with these things.

Moving closer to the buzzing neon sign, her foot steps filled her ears like a clacking companion in surround sound bouncing off of the confined walls. Her sigh-ridden breathing followed the steady beat like a hi-hat to the neon signs bass. As she came to the gutters entrance a taxi raced by drowning out the concrete symphony before a new set of melodies filled the air.

"Well what have we got here." A man with smoky breath stepped in front of the woman blocking her escape from the alley.

"Leave her be, Wally." A second drunk swayed.

"I'm jus' talkin' t'her. Ain't no harm in talkin'." Smokey chuckled before melting down into a mucusy cough. "Ain't no harm is there?"

He reached forward and stroked the side of her cheek with the back of his hand. Susan glared taking a step back then tried to push passed the gaggle of men.

"Hey, hey now." A third burly looking man stopped her in her tracks. "This… fine gentleman was jus' talkin' ta ya."

"It ain't polite t' walk away withou' even sayin' Goodbye." Smoky Wally sniggered through his teeth.

"Goodbye." Susan made to push past the men again.

"Now, ya can't say 'Goodbye' withou' sayin' 'Hello' first." Burly pushed her back.

"Yeah, that be real impolite." A lanky red shirted possible member of the cowboys without horse's gang waved a scolding finger under her nose.

"Fine, ok, hello now goodbye."

"Hey, hey, hey." Wally stepped forward forcing the woman to step back further into the alley. "What's ya hurry?"

"Come on Wally this ain't worth it." Reasonable drunk tried to dissuade his friend once again. "Le's just go home already."

"I'm jus' talkin'!" Wally pushed his buddy to the ground.

"Shit Wally." Reasonable drunk picked himself up and swayed to the flashing lamppost. "I ain't getting' involved. I'm goin' home."

"Pussy." Burly rolled his eyes and flipped Reasonable the finger. "Go home an' watch porn."

"I will! It's still legal in this state!"

Whilst they were distracted with their personal insults Susan braved for another push forward and slipped in-between Burly and Smoky. However, she barely made it two steps before Burly got his hands on her arm and ripped her back into the middle of there three man throng.

"Shit you're hurting me!" Susan struggled to free her arm only to find the man's grip tighten.

"Don' be so go' damn rude then." Burly shook her about until she stopped fighting him.

"Look I've already had the worst day of my life. Someone broke into my room and stole my shit then I got all my money stolen by a drug addict."

"Aww, ain't tha' a sad tale." Smokey Wally feigned wiping tears from his eyes. "How'd ya like ta earn some of tha' cash back?"

"No thank you." She grit her teeth trying to hold back a slur of insults.

"That's a shame 'cause we ain't askin'."

There was a chorus of sniggers that made Susan's eyes widen at the seriousness of the situation. Inhaling deeply she prepared to scream her lungs out as Burly wrapped his free palm over her lips quelling the sound before it could begin. Further hands moved in for the kill gripping various parts of her body as the men dragged her deeper into the abyss. Struggling like her life depended on it she finally found enough flesh to sink her teeth into, causing Burly to retrieve his hand with a yelp.

With barely enough air in her lungs for the job Susan screamed loud enough to set a nearby car alarm off before Burly could back hand her into stunned silence. A few lights in nearby apartments turned on as she kicked and pleaded for the men to release her, throwing the odd insult at them when they seemed to be ignoring her.

Finally Smokey Wally pushed her down straddling her torso and pinning her arms with his knees the first thought to run through her head oddly about the dog shit she had stepped in earlier and hoping it wasn't beneath her now. Strange the things we think of whilst under duress.

"Now, now purdy lady." Wally grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You bite n I'll bash ya skull in against tha' 'ere concrete."

"Fuck you!" Susan spat up at the man only to have gravity send it back. "Get off of me!"

She struggled harder as she felt hands attempting to rid her of her jeans and managed to at least kick one of her assailants in what felt like the chin. _If only it had been the balls,_ she furiously considered.

"Hold tha bitch tight!" It sounded like Lanky. "Goddamn kicks like a mule."

Above a window opened and a head popped out before quickly retreating back inside. Pulling the curtains tightly shut the apartments owner turned the lights off again trying desperately not to get involved. Shouting a curse up towards the apartment window Susan attempted to dislodge Smokey by rolling side to side but the man was a serious heifer and only seemed to enjoy her attempts for freedom.

"Aww now." Wally rumbled with glee. "Ya no' gonna get rid of us tha' easy. Is she now?"

There was a second of silence where in Smokey began unzipping his fly before looking annoyed.

"I said, she ain't gonna get rid of us tha' easy now is she?" Wally frowned and turned his head around to look at his companions. "John? Terrance?"

Susan took a moment to realise there were no longer hands teasing her body free of jeans before jointly discovering Wally's priority change from holding her down to his friend's whereabouts. Tensing her muscles, till they were hard bundles of throbbing rapist moving guns of steel, the young woman let all her strength rip with a blood curdling screech of indignation. Smokey was tossed with ease into a pile on the floor by the woman's sudden outburst of power.

As he shook his head and made to right himself Susan flung herself at him, knocking him back down and straddled his torso releasing a fury of punches at the mans face.

"You dirty son of a bitch!" She continued to slap him silly when her knuckles burned too much to punch any longer. "You… thought… I… wouldn't… kick… your… fucking… arse… if… we… were… alone? God damn coward!"

Wally had been unconscious for sometime before Susan was too tired to continue beating him. It pissed her off a great deal to no longer have the energy to go on but it was probably for the best. The cops could turn up at any moment.

Breathless, she stood up slowly finding her handbag and tossing it on a shoulder. With a final kick to Smokey Wally's gonads the young woman turned only to walk slap bang into a very chiselled torso.

"Oof!" She fell backwards onto her rump and something soggy. "Geeze…"

Rubbing her forehead, checking for a bump, Susan looked ahead of herself to a pair of muscular legs wearing fishnet tights. Raising an eyebrow at the fashion statement she continued to follow the legs upwards to a loincloth and a belt assortment of holiday gear. Something inside her willed her not to continue her ascending observation and it wasn't that perverted corner of her mind admiring the bulge underneath said loincloth.

Shivering from a mixture of fear, and soggy reared cold, the young woman gulped down a clog of saliva and looked directly up at the dreadlocked fiend towering above her. Dear god did he tower.

"You're really big aren't you?" Susan scooted backwards as the alien titled his head at her question. "I mean, look at you all looming and menacing looking. You could rip my head off couldn't you? Just reach on down and 'pop'!"

Again the creature tilted his head, in the opposite direction this time, at the question and shrugged as if to say 'yeah so what.'

Susan nodded politely at the shoulder shrugging, fish net wearing alien and slowly moved to stand. Patting her rear to rid some of the moisture she looked around the alley for a helpful escape but quickly summarised running wasn't likely a good idea if she wanted to live but neither was standing still so the next best thing occurred to her. Talking, she was good at that.

"So, uh, I see we both own fishnets." She pointed at his legs gaining an amused chuff from Mr. Big.


	8. Chapter 8 You make me sick

**Sorry for the wait. Been busy. Almost finished with the past section of the story so we can get back to the damned present. I've been very cruel to Wy'strn in this chapter.**

**Oh and I shagged Garrus not Thane. I know I said Thane was getting lucky but he really annoyed me as a character. He's like a generic bag of brain dead racoons. Plus, he creeped me out and his back story felt so shamrackle. Garrus gained a personality and I always was a sucker for the funny guy so of course the turian won me over. Oh god I think I've become a Garrus fan girl.... shit man.**

**Uh... enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8 You make me sick**

"Rat'ein! Rat'ein you useless pile of flesh!" Wy'strn hammered on the hunter's door for the nineteenth time. "Open this door, NOW!"

On the other side of the door silence could be figuratively heard whilst Wy'strn was growing more and more vocal. Snarling as he tightened his fists and shook them above his head, the hunter lifted a foot ready to boot his friend's door in whether or not he was currently doing the deed with his sister. Actually that made him even more annoyed now he thought about it. Sure it was all good when Rat'ein was a promising hunter that had some fetish issues; but mask losing? That Yautja was definitely no longer worthy of screwing his sister.

"RAT'EIN!" Wy'strn bellowed loud enough to make the panels on the ship shake. "I'm going to rip your head off and feed it to an acid oozing creature of the black! OPEN THIS DOOR AND PUT MY SISTER DOWN YOU OOMAN LOVING BASTARD!"

Again the warrior was replied with silence that only unhinged the last noose holding him back as he took a few steps behind him and charged the door. The first time he slammed into the door he left a rather impressive dent in the shape of his body the second time however the portal slipped open causing him to fall into the younger hunter's quarters head first.

"Wy'strn…" Rat'ein clung to the wall besides the door. "I am sorry my friend. I was unconscious."

"How could you sleep throu-" Wy'strn paused as he got a proper look at his companion. "Hruum! That level of rough foreplay is not normal, hunt brother."

The smaller warrior chuffed at his friend's words but quickly regretted the body movement as another rib audibly cracked. No longer able to hold his own weight, Rat'ein slipped to the floor painfully and continued to wheeze to himself. Feeling rather sorry for the younger male, Wy'strn, carefully lifted his bulk over a shoulder and deposited him on a pile of bed furs.

"I will have many chastising words for my blood sister." Wy'strn rumbled with displeasure as he checked the other male over. "You will not die, hunt brother, but you will need several days of rest. Your bones must heal."

"Yes, hunt brother." Rat'ein almost delirious with pain slurred.

"I have retrieved your mask." He stood, unclipping the metal trophy from his belt and deposited the item on the younger male's bruised stomach.

"And the female?"

"The ooman still breathes."

"Thank you, hunt brother."

Silence descended upon the pair as Rat'ein toyed with unconsciousness and Wy'strn was torn between worry for his younger friend and disappointed annoyance. Undecided whether or not to leave the larger warrior began an erratic pacing that was slowly but surely leading him towards the door. As he was almost in reach of escape the younger yautja suddenly opened his eyes having managed to resist the dark tendrils of sleep.

"How?"

"How?" Wy'strn frowned, repeating the question, as he took two steps back on himself to his companion's side.

"The female?"

"The ooman?" Wy'strn found himself correcting the assertion that the creature was anything more than beast and prey. "The ooman was willing to bargain. An arrangement was sought. None of our hunting party will contact or harm the ooman in exchange for your mask and continued secrecy to the circumstances surrounding the procurement of our technology."

"You spoke to her?" Rat'ein was momentarily sobered from the blur of his condition.

"I had two choices." He snorted with defiance. "Kill or bargain. The ooman was much more willing to bargain when I defended it. Diplomacy suited all our needs."

Another awkward silence threatened to suffocate the pair as Wy'strn stared longingly at the door and commenced fidgeting. Killing something and a bath would have made him the happiest hunter in the universe right about now but other duties took priority.

"Where is my blood sister?"

"Gor'ah?" Rat'ein mumbled in a stupor. "Gor'ah, is very angry."

"Did you finish before her?" Wy'strn sniggered at another's misfortune.

"She heard our conversation." The younger warrior continued to ignore his elder's attempts at provocation. "That is why she attacked me."

Wy'strn's laughter abruptly stopped at the news, his eyes slitting dangerously as he watched his friend, unblinkingly. Gor'ah was never one to let her rage stop at the one responsible but to boil up until everybody was burned in a tidal wave of foaming displeasure.

"What did you tell her?" His voice was steady with a hint of dangerous undertones. "Rat'ein! Answer me."

"About?" Rat'ein's eyelids fluttered from exhaustion before snapping open as giant paws began to shake him agonisingly back to the world of the living.

"The ooman!" He continued to shake his friend until he was sure, by the blood curdling screams, he was fully conscious. "What did you tell her about the ooman?"

"Jus- S-she just wanted... the tale." Rat'ein squeaked attempting stay as still as possible in case another crackling noise from his bone vibrated through his body. "I-I didn't tell her details."

"Did you give the ooman's location?" Wy'strn defaulted to his usual looming. "The co-ordinates of the lodging structure?"

"I... No, I only stated it as a structure."

"And she left with only that information?" The larger males began pacing back and forth.

"I do not know I was unconscious at the time, hunt brother."

"I gave my oath as an honoured warrior, Rat'ein." He came to a stop at the foot of the bed. "I know my blood sister. She will want to hurt the creature. She would not leave withou-"

Wy'strn's eyes widened significantly as an idea bloomed in his mind's eye. Darting around the room at a speed unimaginable for a creature so large and bulky he flicked through draws and compartments leaving a spray of equipment and clothing littered about the floor. When he was sure every nook and cranny had been searched, whilst Rat'ein watched his companion effectively trashing his room with wanton abandon, he rounded back on the injured male and glowered down upon him like some vengeful death god.

"Where is your wrist computer?" Wy'strn growled.

"I do not know, hunt brother." Rat'ein tried his best to evaporate. "It was here last night. I did not lose it!"

"Gor'ah..." The older hunter fumed, bunching his fists with increasing intensity.

"Do you believe she ha-" Rat'ein gave up on his question as he realized his hunt brother was gone.

* * *

Still attaching pieces of armor and weaponry Wy'strn leaped from the ships open access onto a railway bridge. It was broad daylight, the earth's sun at its highest peak, and his cloak was currently disengaged but more important things were at stakes than ones visibility.

Running along the train tracks he jumped again onto a small building with a roof garden that managed to hide his imposing form for the few seconds it took him to smash his way through the garden furniture and onto the next roof. Finally managing to connect his mask into place he was momentarily blinded by the heat sensor setting that simply showed everything to be a blinding white in the midday sun. Coming to a skidding halt, at the very edge of the roof, Wy'strn clicked angrily and stabbed at his wrist console until something better suited for daylight appeared on his optic screen.

As the world reappeared for the yautja he found himself in a rather embarrassing situation. A group of children playing less than five feet away on the opposite rooftop were watching him menacingly as they tossed and caught rocks in the air.

He wasn't entirely sure this was the correct reaction for ooman children to have to one of his species as the first rock was pelted at him. At the same time he was unsure how his reaction should be to their apparent insanity but fleeing felt correct.

"Go home stupid trekkie!" A small boy yelled as he threw another rock at the alien catching him square in the back of the head.

Wy'strn snarled dangerously at the attack but continued to hop across the roof tops on a far more important mission than disciplining the earth species vile children. He also finally remembered to turn his cloak on.


	9. Chapter 9 The wild learned from you

**Short Chapter I know but I fancied a bit of cliff hangering. The next chapter will conclude the past so expect it to be longer to make up for this one's shortness. Also, I'm practicing with my Paragraphs. Do they look nicer now?**

* * *

**Chapter 9 The wild learned from you**

Reaching the third floor fire escape directly outside the young woman's hotel room, Wy'strn hovered. Glass was spluttered all over the floor inside, the window having been rammed through, and the furniture was in a state of ravishing.

A series of uniformed human's were wandering aimlessly about looking at objects, taking photos and talking amongst themselves. Another set of human's in white coats were taking samples of the blood slashed across the walls and strewn bedding. By the looks of it one hell of a fight had taken place and, more surprising to the hunter, apparently the little human female had managed to damage her attacker too. The tones of red smeared about were commonly melded with that of luminescent green.

Wy'strn chuffed at the mere notion a creature so fragile could make a dent in his tyrant of a sister, but the evidence was compelling. More so, the lack of human body informed him that, Gor'ah, had most probably taken the human elsewhere to dissect. Likely the commotion caused by their initial scrap had alerted the patrons and staff of the hotel. Gor'ah, being the kind of malevolent woman she was would have greatly unappreciated the interruption and stowed her play thing for later. _But where?_

Wy'strn shook his head igniting a jingle of metal rings and hopped up onto the roof above him. He needed to think and no doubt fast if the human was to live.

Mulling over his options the hunter watched the dusty skyline attempting to think like an angry women wanting to torment a small creature without disruption. She would need to be away from the larger areas, somewhere, where no human's would stumble across or hear screaming. It would also need camouflage and high raised platforms to dangle a body from.

Turning to his console, Wy'strn brought up a map of the area in his visor. _It would have to be close,_ he thought as he flicked through landscapes until coming across a sparse area out of town. The area was mountainous with a small human area at one edge but nothing else about it. According to his in board computer the human's used it as some form of recreational area but rarely strayed from set paths and referred to it as Estrella Mountain Park. Low visibility, little human interaction and things to dangle bodies from; it appeared perfect.

Setting a marker on his map he began the trek to the park hoping his instincts were correct.

* * *

Susan groaned as her body was once again jerked around. Something cold was currently digging into her ankles making her toes numb from constriction as well as an odd feeling of being pulled against gravity, making her blood rush to her head. Opening her eyes experimentally she creased them shut again as the sun decided to blare hatefully at her. Trying again she managed to keep them open at a squint, this time, catching a glimpse of her hands dangling below her. It was then the young woman realized she was hanging upside down from what appeared to be a phone line or power line post. The naked logs purpose didn't really seem important for the time being as she watched a gentle stream of blood run down her left arm to collect in the dust beneath.

At the recognition she was bleeding a number of throbbing areas abruptly came to her attention setting into motion a string of curses. When the pain seemed adequately insulted Susan figured taking stock of the situation was probably worth her time.

Thinking back to before she had passed out a jumble of images filled her minds eye. Glass smashing, a swirl in the air that soon formed a gigantic monster and growling; she remembered instinctually reaching for the empty bottles of alcohol lined around the room and flinging them at the beast. The monster had then laughed at her, pinning her against a wall and raked its claws down the side of her face. Susan was pretty sure she screamed at that point, eliciting more of that coarse laughter from the creature. Somehow, she remembered managing to peel her right shoe from her foot before ramming the heel into the bare skin showing around her attacker's waist. This was responded with a yelp and Susan being tossed onto the floor whilst the fiend checked over its wound.

Launching herself up from the floor, ignoring her bodies pleads for mercy; Susan dived inside the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Thinking back, it was pretty much the most moronic act she had ever performed in her life. No wait, that came next.

Stopping to peer at herself in the mirror Susan felt tears brim in her eyes as the extent of the claw raking hit home. The left side of her face, from the beginnings of the scalp to the edge of her chin, was shredded and horribly mutilated. Slipping backwards, trying to run away from her own reflection, the young woman slipped into the bathtub as the monster hammered on the door.

Snarling wildly it slammed its oversized hands through, cracking the wood into splinters before knocking the door completely away from its hinges. Susan screamed again clutching for anything around her and tossing it in the monsters general direction. The creature ignored the projectiles and stomped foreword as a new item entered Susan's hands; the shower head.

Turning the water on an ice cold jet fired at the monster catching it square in the chest and making it almost double back, shivering. Roaring angrily the beast leaped knocking the human woman back into the bath tub. Susan recalled the sudden burst of pain as her head collided with the tiled wall, then darkness evaporating the world away.

Whatever this thing wanted she was sure it was involved with those two perverts.


	10. Chapter 10 It's special

**By request I've split the chapter up because some people can't wait a couple of days... Here is the first two scenes, you get no more until I'm good and ready and finished the Chapter! *Brings out the whip***

**On a random note: I finally took a look at Phoenix. God what a dry taste in the mouth. Nice swimming pools you crazy idiots! Desert? Swimming pools? Someone lost all their brain cells from heat exhaustion?**

**Oh and please! PLEASE! Stop messaging me and review just to say "Update NOW!" It makes me become Gor'ah. You already get this story multiple times a week I have a life and a job and other people's lives. You want me to write faster? Don't annoy me. Try some constructive criticism in your messages or maybe even a "Hi I'm Rachel and I love bunnies and I thought it was so h0t when What's his name said that thing to what's her face."**

**Now I probably sound like a pre-Madonna but I do really appreciate the reviewers. I love them in fact but you got to see it from my point of view. I log on my e-mail and I have 5 messages in a row identical. "Update now!" "MOAR!" Wouldn't that drive you crazy? I know its driven me to the booze closet a couple of times. **

**I'm not going to roll call you but yeah, Thank you to everybody whose reviewed, Faved, Alerted or sent me a random message. You are all freakin sexy and we should all get together and eat strawberries in a hot tub!**

* * *

**Chapter 10 It's special**

Gor'ah sneered fiercely at her wound having just rubbed a simmering blue concoction over it. A pong of burning flesh punctuated her nostrils for a few seconds as the solution did its job, sealing the gaping hole shut. As the blue transformed into a carbon black the colossal female stood from her rock perch to admire her catch. The human was now awake and glaring, upside down, at her captor. Gor'ah couldn't restrain the tickle of laughter such defiance brought to the back of her throat as she chuckled with impending excitement.

Now, the fact of the matter was Gor'ah, as a creature of violent prowess, was not in the traditional sense of the word evil. Quite the opposite in fact; she often performed great services for her people, occasionally worshipped her cultures deity and had raised several young to be noble and honourable warriors.

The current situation, however, was the creation of what could only be described as cat on cat bitchery. Gor'ah was affronted that a male, temporally in her employ, could demonstrate such gentle and fond characteristics towards another female he was known to have past desires for. Even though the other female was unwilling to such a notion the simple fact the male showed tender tendencies was enough to set Gor'ah on a territorial frenzy.

This form of behaviour is also common within human girls normally between the ages of twelve and twenty four. The hormones rush, the use of rational thought escapes the planet and everybody forgets that the man is to blame also. Yes, he is to blame. If the male had not allowed the advances of the second female or made the advances himself then the alpha female would not be upset; but why get sad over the fool?

Unsheathing her hunting knife, Gor'ah, tested the edge of the blade with a single digit as she sauntered over to her human captive. The dangling woman was still bleeding from various abrasions though most had already clotted. From the current level of damage to the human, Gor'ah, surmised that the female could still probably survive two to three hours of slow methodical skinning. As long as the huntress did it just right that is.

Squatting down until they were eye level with one another, the goliath warrior reached a hand back behind her head releasing the tubes connecting her mask with a pop and hiss. Sliding the mask from her face she frowned as the human simply continued to glare, annoyed that the creature wasn't in a state of complete awe and fear. Sucking in a chest full of air, Gor'ah, roared like the devil in the young woman's face conjuring up lashings of spittle to go with the blast of air giving her captive a ghastly blow dry.

When she was finished the human re-opened her eyes and spat in the aliens face. For a moment Gor'ah stayed perfectly still, letting the mucus descend her cranium before tilting her head in confusion. Reaching a hand up, she wiped the moisture assaulting her forehead and looked down at the secreted fluid on her fingers.

"That means 'fuck you' in case you didn't already know." Susan growled. "Liked my heel did you? Why don't you let me loose so I can rip your fucking nipples off too, bitch."

Gor'ah titled her head the other way in a state of utter bewilderment before a rumble of laughter surfaced. Standing up from her crouch the huntress latched onto the woman's clothing and tore it from her body. The human gave a surprised yelp and shiver from the exposure before attempting to bite the aliens thigh. Gor'ah shook her off, pressing her back firmly against the wood pole via pressure to her abdomen and ran her knife along the creature's leg. The human squirmed at the cold sensation, desperately flailing her arms to scratch at her captor but always just out of reach.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" Susan tried to give the colossal female all hell. "Get your- STOP THA-AH!"

Susan screamed as the knife dug into her skin and shaved along her outer thigh. Gor'ah shuddered with anticipation as the first scream echoed across the mountains and the line of skin parted from the human's body. Discarding the first patch of hide, the huntress savoured the smell of fear emanating from her captive before teasing her knife along the opposite leg.

Susan whimpered as she watched her own flesh disappear past her eyes to the ground. Her ears felt numb and her body fizzled with electric shock as she sensed the blade sliding across her opposite thigh, ready to cause the next trauma.

* * *

Wy'strn ground to a halt as a high pitched scream echoed around him. Twisting his body, trying to locate the source of the sound he spun in circles unsure of which route to take. Growling the warrior switched between optical visions trying to find something of use, some clues to lead him in the right direction. Snarling at his technologies lack of help he ripped the mask from him and tossed it angrily into the desert. Gripping his tresses the yautja shook with rage as the second cry filled his ears from all sides. He felt helpless, pathetic and unable to prevent the tarnishing of his own honour.

Dropping to his knees as the wailing only continued, muffling in his mind's eye until indistinguishable with the wind, he chattered curses to the gods and a couple aimed for his sisters hide. The human was dying, was going to die and take a piece of him along with it.

Opening his eyes, Wy'strn, got up and stumbled towards his expelled mask. The silver coloured visor had dug itself into a crevice between a patch of rocks and a rather prickly cactus. The dishonoured warrior reached down to retrieve it, ignoring the uncomfortable lacerations from the cactus, and lifted the mask from the ground. As he did so something strange caught his eye; a dark splatter, red now he looked closer. Trailing a finger across the coagulating substance he brought it up to his scent glands and breathed it in.

_Ooman._

"Thank Paya your creatures bleed." Wy'strn mumbled as he locked his mask back into place.

He now had a trail but by the lack of enthusiasm left in the human's screams a complete lack of time. The human was dying, might die but he wasn't going to let it take a piece with of him with it.


	11. Chapter 11 My ego your ego, ergo our ego

**I know I said it was the end of the past this chapter but I figured you'd want it broken up again because this one was nearing 2,000 words. The final part of this section of the story you'll get tomorrow. I just noticed you guys seem to prefer bite sized chunks.**

**Also, I wrote a fan fiction of this fan fiction as a joke. You can find it on my profile. It's just a piss take of bad fan fiction and this fan fiction so if you're feeling sad from all the nastiness currently going on in the last few chapters here you might enjoy a laugh over there until Susan gets back into her stride and Wy'strn finds some way to advise Rat'ein about something.**

**Oh, right yes. Before I forget.**

**Prnounciation:**

**Gou'lieavra – Goal – lee- ah- vrr-ah (Gulliver)**

* * *

**Chapter 11 My ego your ego, ergo our ego**

Susan gurgled a weak replying cry as the monster pierced her calf, twisting the blade snugly. Gor'ah was mildly impressed the little female was still clinging feebly to life by this point. Most creatures would have died of freight or the missing thirty percent or so of skin. The female warrior had never flayed anything alive before but the raising heat from the released muscles, the involuntary jerk as the human's body spasmed in its state of shock and the tormented wails that floated gently upon the mid-afternoon breeze brought such a pleasurable tingle down her spine. The empowerment was exhilarating and thrummed deliciously in the back of her head as she drew her blade from the young human's leg to watch the cascade of red run the length of her suspended body.

Torture was getting old, Gor'ah reasoned logically that the creature would soon die of exposure, bacteria, shock; you could take your pick and not be wrong. Perhaps it was time to call revenge a day, enough was enough and any more lost that sated feeling to be replaced by bloated discomfort.

The hefty alien crouched down watching the human's eyes flutter between agonising consciousness and the freedom death offered. A species of pity filled the huntress' eyes as she toyed with the hunting knife between her fingers.

"May Centanu come for you swiftly, young sister." Gor'ah inclined her head respectfully to the feisty female fiercely fighting forthcoming fatality.

Wiping a hand up from the young woman's scalp, Gor'ah laid her gigantic paw over the human's eyes. Pushing the head back, exposing the vulnerable crook of her neck, the yautja brought her bloodied blade to the throbbing artery just below the flesh. Severing the lifeline would let the creature go in peace, the duress its laboured breathing and wounded whines indicated could finally come to an end. Gor'ah was never taught to walk away from a wounded thing, even one that hides. A wild thing will drop dead never having felt sorry itself but their space in the world is irreplaceable, a thing to be appreciated as what can never be again. This creature, this human was the original and concluding whisper of the wild to fit perfectly into this form and grace this side of the veil. Somewhere, Gor'ah was sure Paya wept for her child.

Inhaling a deep resigned lungful of her captive's heady scent, the huntress closed her eyes feeling the drooping sun's ray's sooth her cranium and took the moment to appreciate the life she held in her hands. The human shuddered beneath her finger tips in the grips of a shock endued fit, her heart racing faster and faster. Her end was nearing.

Muscles bunching around the knife, Gor'ah sighed a soundless prayer as her hand moved to slice open the human's throat. As the sharpened blade pressed against the skin a pressure formed around her wrist. Opening her eyes the colossal female watched as a deep green arm, speckled with ink coloured globules much like her own, pulled her hand away from the human disarming her in the process.

"Wy'strn..." Gor'ah was quiet, weary.

"My honour dies with her." Wy'strn flipped the blade offering it back to the squatted female.

"It is cruel, blood brother." She re-sheathed her hunting knife and stood. "Centanu stalks her now. Let her go."

"No!"

Gor'ah snarled, back handing her younger sibling and bringing him to his knees. Keep down in a sign of willing submission to her show of strength Wy'strn listened as the huntress paced around him, kicking up dust to blur his vision.

"Whatever pact you had with the human is forfeit." Gor'ah came to a halt in front of him. "It is prey. Show it mercy. Let it die."

"Paya, watches, blood sister."

"Yes." She had no rebuke for that.

"Centanu, will pursue me for eternity." Wy'strn shook his head in a dismayed clatter. "I will never know rest, Gor'ah."

The huntress observed him with judgemental amber eyes as he looked up at her like the pup he was too many years ago. That eager spark, those incorrigible wayward eyes and that sense of honourable intent never quite finding its correct home, it was almost enough to beguile her completely to his every whim.

"I relent my claim." Gor'ah broke away to retrieve her mask. "But, even if she is saved this day, blood brother, your honour is bound to her subject of whim."

"As long as nobody tells her that it should be fine." He snorted.

Gor'ah smiled beneath her mask, tracing a tender claw under her brother's chin. Oh, how she longed for the creature to die, if not for its sake then for her brother's future.

* * *

Susan felt like she was encased in a burning sea of darkness. She supposed her eyes were shut but the waves of humid fog were busy destroying every occurrence of rational thought that tried to surface. The haze of her mind was unrelenting, making her feel lost, confused and terrified. She was sure she was not alone in here either.

Shadows danced at the corners of her mind's eye, a creature blacker than black itself stalked her from a distance, biding its time for when her defences no longer kept it at bay. An instinctual memory gave it a feeling not a name because the monster that made her fear so was not something anybody was around long enough to socialize with. It was... the end she supposed.

The more mind she paid it, the dark creature, the closer it moved forward. She needed to run, hide and get out of this place. Screaming at the top of her lungs in her misty world, Susan tried to will herself to open her eyes to no avail. Her body was unresponsive, she wasn't even sure if her conscious was even connected to anything so physical anymore.

The shadow, the darkness was moving in for the kill, drawing its weapon of choice. Susan was paralyzed to the spot, morbidly forced to watch as Death itself came for her, readied its blade. She whimpered when the form came directly into view, no longer content to keep out of sight.

"Piss off!" Susan stammered. "I know you!"

"Not as well as I know you, Susan Bacardi." Death's voice was like a hum in the brain, a thousand bees vibrating directly into the skull. "I've come for you before. Do you remember?"

"Piss off!" Susan grew in volume. "I don't believe in you!"

"Yes, you said that last time." Death sighed. "Then you tried to bite me."

Susan stopped being petrified long enough for a memory to surface of some bizarre dream she had, had during a college gunja party. According to the doctors when she had awoken, from a bad trip, in the hospital she had almost died but had shrugged it off as the NHS giving the full nanny service.

"Roger?" Susan mused over the name she had given her high time companion last time around. "Seriously?"

"Is that really still the best name you could come up with?" Grumbled Roger Death.

"Hey, it's better than what I originally wanted to call you." She cackled darkly. "Dick wad."

"Yes, quite."

"Where... are we?" Susan looked around at the tranquil space Roger had kindly brought with him, forcing the smog to the edges of their little meeting place.

"A place between places." Roger hummed.

"Well, that's very helpful." Susan rolled her eyes as Death merely shrugged in response. "Am I... you know..."

"Dead?" Death looked around at the darkness he managed to stand out from. "Do you see a light yet?"

"No, only you." She sighed.

"Then we are not ready to leave yet."

"How long?"

"How long would you like it to be?" There was some amusement to his tone.

"What do you m-" Susan paused as a noise fluttered gently into their space. "What was that?"

"I believe that was Wy'strn." Roger moaned remembering how difficult that particular yautja was every time they met. "He's a bastard. I hope he stays alive forever."

Susan stared dumbstruck at Death's irritated outburst before the noise began to distract her again. Straining her ears, or what she interpreted as hearing, the young woman tried to find words in the jumble of sound.

"What is he saying?" She looked to Roger for guidance.

"He is speaking in the yautja language." Death informed. "I believe he is shouting at Gou'lieavra to treat you."

"Treat me?" Susan frowned. "Who are these people? And what country speaks yautja? I thought I was in America!"

"You're currently in space, actually." Roger took a step back as Susan gave him a dangerous look. "Physically speaking of course."

"Those pervtards!" Sudden vengeful recollection fuelled her resolve as she willed her consciousness to forcefully take control of her body once again.

The pain hit home first overwhelming her senses until her anger aimed towards a pair of depraved aliens cut through the fog like a knife. The next barrier blocking her attack was that of energy. Susan's body was beyond exhausted reply but just enough was left to focus to her eyes, opening slowly like the fluttering petals of a rose bud in the summer heat. Blinking past the blinding light, she heard her body take a painful breath as if reality had only just come back into existence. The world was a blur until her eyes could focus upon a large creature with a forehead that oddly reminded her of dried out dog shit flattened and tire tread marked.

The creature looked at her in bewilderment as she tested her vocal chords, finding her throat dry and lifeless. Licking her lips she swallowed down a painful gulp of saliva and crackled a test of sound across her lifeless vocal chords.

"Wy'strn..." Susan's voice, barely a whisper, croaked. "F-f-fuck... you."

* * *

Literary references mentioned in this chapter:

D.H Lawrence – Self-pity - "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself."

Jeremy Poolman - A Wounded Thing Must Hide: In Search of Libbie Custer


	12. Chapter 12 I'll do me

**Going back to the present now. Anything you're curious about that happens after this particular chapter will be explained in the present. Hope you laugh as hard as I did writing the end of this chapter.**

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews. Though I do have to admit Dragonfiz you frighten me. I've never seen anybody so gluttonous for anything before. It's really rather a ... gift of some sort. And before you ask where the next chapter is it'll appear in the next two days whilst I secretly write it when I'm supposed to be working.**

**I'd really love to hear some criticism to. What you don't like about the story mostly. Something you think might go in well. I'm very open to idea's because from here on out I only have two points of set plot. The end and a random piece of middle. The rest is amendable. (Though to be honest the last 12 Chapters were completely seat of the pants writing I really only ever had the end and the random bit in the middle decided upon. Lol)**

**Gou'lieavra was a random addition that came to mind after too much Malibu the other night.**

* * *

**Chapter 12 I'll do me**

Wy'strn stared dumbstruck as the half dead human regained consciousness only to insult him and pass out again. He was generally impressed if anything smaller than him had the balls to tell him what for but obviously this little female was beyond mere heroics and somewhat insane if she wanted to pick a fight whilst mostly dead. Still, it was enough to make him quiet for a moment.

"It cannot be done." Gou'lieavra grunted in an annoyed sort of way. "These ooman's are too weak and slow to heal. I have done all I can. I will do no more. Kill it."

"No!" Wy'strn snarled latching a paw around the medic's throat and pinning him down upon an empty bed. "You will do something to keep this creature from the dark veil or I will personally send you after her!"

The hunter squeezed a little tighter eliciting gurgling sounds from his fellow before releasing him to let the medic's head bounce onto the cold metal beneath him. Stepping back Wy'strn tensed his muscles and began the pacing of a lion trapped in too small a confinement. He was dangerous like this, in this state of mind, and the medic knew it. Rubbing his bruised neck he lifted himself from the bed and filtered through his years of experience and knowledge looking for some small hope that might save him from the warrior poised to destroy his libratory.

"Shit." The lanky male cursed at his inability to form an adequate response. "I cannot make this ooman's bio-chemistry as strong as ours."

"Then do something else!" Wy'strn rammed his fist through a wall, neatly splitting the reinforced material, proving his threatening intension but damaging himself in the same instance.

"I have amplified her immune system to compensate for infection." The medic began his own path of pacing. "I have synthetically covered the wounds but the loss of skin is substantial. The ooman needs skin in order to allow her body to breath efficiently, control her core temperature, protect from the constant assault of bacteria. I can adjust her temperature, increase oxygen supply I can even boost her immune system but it is only short term.

The ooman body is not capable of withstanding such a beating. It is failing as we speak. Perhaps if we had a sterile room and better comprehension of ooman doctoring then I could prolong her life until its natural end but she would never be able to wake. Alive physically but in a never ending dream. Even if I could I would not allow it. We are not devils. We are warriors."

Wy'strn was silent as he took all the information in. His shoulders slumped ever so slightly, a tension in his back igniting to cover for the loss of posture as his eyes glazed losing hope. Hope for his eternal soul. A sharp trickle of sound escaped the base of his vocal chords aching into life with a terrible rattle of disappointed anguish. He was utterly defeated by an enemy he was blind to fight. His hands figuratively tied behind his back and his body smothered in honey as fire ants danced across his skin eating his flesh slowly but surely away. It was... shameful for lack of a better word. He wished he could curl up and die on the spot. No female would ever let him touch her again and this deeply wounded his pride. Sex was definitely worth dying for. The scents, the sounds, the feel of smooth skin beneath his finger tips. Heat rising up to suffocate his lungs in an intoxicating burst of pheromones, that species of pleasure and pain that melded together so deliciously with the thrills of creation. A creation he was needed for like no other need he could experience in any other way. It left behind a burning sensation in the back of his throat, consuming his mind like a whirlwind of warmth and teasing his senses until he was sure he had never been alive until that moment. That overpowering urge to be the subject of need, close but not closed in, a burning desire that left him breathless.

How could he give up on that?

"The ooman is not as strong as yautja?" Wy'strn's brow wrinkled with the repeated strain he was placing on his brain.

"Yes." Gou'lieavra rolled his eyes muttering to himself darkly at the sheer stupidity of his thuggish companion.

"Then why not make her as strong as yautja."

"Wy'strn," the medic folded his arms defensively, giving the warrior a look of muted disdain. "I cannot force an ooman to evolve through sheer will. I can only work with what is already here and I have already pushed the ooman's immune system to the limit. Her liver his failing for Paya's sake!"

"No, I don't mean that." Wy'strn tugged at his tusks, deep in thought as he fought to tease his eureka moment into the air. "If the ooman is weak then make the ooman strong. Make the ooman yautja."

Gou'lieavra out right glared at him, an expression that would have normally gotten his ass dragged to the nearest training ring and handed back to him with multiple weapons sticking out of it. However, Wy'strn was far too distracted by the headache he was having from scientific thoughts, or so he perceived them.

"It is an ooman. I cannot just throw syringes at it, pray a great deal to Paya and fantasize that it is a yautja female until it becomes so. Otherwise I would have a great deal many more offspring from all the inanimate objects I have turned into desirable mates." The medic sighed as a rumble of laughter filled his ears from across the room. "I cannot make this ooman a yautja as much as I cannot bring her back to healt-"

Gou'lieavra abruptly fell into silence, his upper and lower left mandibles chattering together as ideas swished through his mind building up a portfolio of facts and figures. The sudden stillness of the thin medic caught Wy'strn's confused attention as he watched him begin to walk the room grabbing what appeared to be random items from shelves and cupboards. For a moment the bulky hunter believed his fellow had become inflicted by some fast acting illness or dementia. But then he came to the reasonable conclusion the medic had simply gone insane as he came at him with a very large very painful looking syringe.

"Bend over."

"Fuck no!" Wy'strn almost climbed up the wall to escape the lunatic.

"You want to save your pet ooman you will bend over and let me take your DNA." Gou'lieavra's voice was smooth, neutral with the deeper undertones of amused vengeance. "I'm not going to share my DNA with that creature. When the Elder finds out about this he will probably kill it then you but at least I can feign innocence as the weaker medic set upon by the brutish warrior whom smashed my wall and equipment; leaving me to decide whether or not to give into your demands and protect the crew from lack of medical facilities or allow the crew to suffer without my skills."

"You bastard!" Wy'strn roared. "You cowardly bastard!"

"I am no hunter. Just a medic with a small reputation to protect. Who knows maybe I'll look like the hero." Gou'lieavra appeared to slip into a pleasant day dream before shaking his head and motioning for the hunter to turn around. "This will only hurt... a great deal."


	13. Chapter 13 Whose to say

**Alright, my hubby has been reading this now and is acting as my editor. He's convinced me to stay in the present and not skip forward back to where the first two chapter left off. I'm thinking I might just delete those first two chapters but we'll see. At least this now leaves me more room to add in additional story lines for this section of the story before Act 3.**

**Also, I took on bored comments about description. I was not overly describing in order to keep a fast, short chaptered pace but if you want it I'm adding more of it. The scenes will be getting longer though.**

**Anything else you think would be great to add let me know. Enjoy!**

**Oh and if you haven't figured it out already, Katie Melua is my music of choice when writing this story.**

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**Chapter 13 Whose to say when you get older you don't need a toy collection**

"Roger?"

Susan stirred in her sleep, an uncomfortable sort of hotness sticking to her skin. She was soaking wet and the moisture only seemed to be accumulating over her body as her nerves sent signals back to the brain telling her the air was humid rather than she was sweaty. They also relayed further information that something furry was tucked against her skin but she couldn't determine its subject whilst her eyes and mind were blurred and shut in waking consciousness.

Opening her eyes as reality seeped into her brain, igniting memory and recognition the young woman lay perfectly still acclimatising. She was utterly confused at this time, a strange feeling of having lost precious years of life. The room was dark, with a silent red glow much like a cheap brothel somewhere down town in Paris. She couldn't remember going to Paris though, or being French so that couldn't be it.

Blinking furiously as the fluff that filled her mind began to frizzle out, a buzzing noise abruptly replacing the pleasant numbness, followed sharply by fire in her skin. She screamed an unadulterated, fuck pride, pitch of agony and tried to curl into a tight ball only to find her muscles rock hard and tight apparently having spent some time protectively seized. Susan continued to scream until her voice faded into a croaking mess of flanging notes then died leaving only bursts of air to squeeze through her rapidly shrinking trachea; her eyes pressed furiously together least they pop from their sockets at the pressure building within her skull.

As her brain began to move into place natural pain blocking mechanisms her exhausted vocal chords finally dulled into silence, her lungs heaving with the excess oxygen her cells hungered for. The buzz in her head was now a hornets' nest driving out the ordinary processes of sight, sound and touch. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head when she tried to open them, the darkened room apparently now to bright to comprehend.

As the hormones surged through her body releasing bursts of relief to the worst sources of discomfort, Susan felt a little sensibleness regain her logical thinking. The first thing to return, the road map of nerves and impulses, under her skin sending feedback that a touching sensation was occurring somewhere around her forehead and right arm. Her brow constricted at this realization her eye lids flinging open in an instant searching out. A deep rumbling purr drew her attention towards a looming darkness, whose features were indistinct through her overwhelmed orbs, furrowing her brow further. As she continued to blink back the fog, her mind reeled pulling up ideas and concepts to fit the general shape and purpose of the object she was picking out. _Human? Humanoid? Large, bulky humanoid with funny looking angles? Pervtard...._

"Get the fuck away from me!" Susan spat, her voice cracked and un-lubricated, slapping the paw currently trying to soothe her arm. "Don't touch me you god damn pervert!"

This instantly got the shadow's attention as he audibly choked on his own purr and leaned away from the assaulting female. As she caught her breath back from a mixture of fatigue and annoyance Susan slid her hands under herself and tried to sit only to find her arms weak and unsupportive as they shook from the strain of her weight. Huffing with irritation she took a deep breath and tried again willing her arms to resist their weakness and obey, until she was able to at least lift her torso part of the way, before dropping like a dead weight. A new appendage snaked its way around her shoulder blades and helped her up. Susan was too incensed at this point to thank the alien for his help and instead slapped him across the face, hard. He mewled like a wounded animal and backed off completely, disappearing to the farthest reaches of the room.

Her eyes were now becoming adjusted to the dim light, homing in on the features of the room, as she brushed away the seeping moisture accrued on her forehead. This time the fluid was excreted through pores rather than guided to the surface of her skin, the remnants of strain and freight brought to her tired form from waking. She swayed in disorientation, eyeing the shapes and recesses of the room. A door leading to an unknown space in one corner, whilst an opening along the same wall lead to another room. On the opposite side a large window dominated, showing scenes of dark distrustful sights, space in all its glory speckled with contaminants of stars.

Her breath hitched in her throat, bobbing a bubble of air back and forth along the wind pipe before swallowing down into the pit of her swirling stomach. This wasn't right, this couldn't be. Roger had at least spoken more truth to her than an ill tempered parent. She squealed a tense noise of disturbed thinking, ringing her hands tightly into the bed covers before noticing them next. Fur, massive, eye boggling rounds of fur lay beneath her like some primitive Neanderthals nest.

Her eyes darted up again, setting sights upon an array of weapons clinging fiercely to the wall directly in front of her and edged with the occasional skull of some mythical beast. Her mind began to spin, or perhaps it was her body she wasn't sure but within a blink or two she found her eyes glued to the creature watching her from the shadows. It clattered at her, grunted, made a pleasant chittering then stepped towards her hands raised in the come hither expression of a cat lover having found a stray.

Susan's body was distraught from whatever had happened previously to it, pain laced every limb, the muscles were over flowing with tension and her resolve was no longer able to will her to do anything more than sit in a slumped position. It was utterly terrifying, watching as the shadow edged close, unable to will herself to move. The red mist of glowing light drifted over his brow illuminating a face only a mother could love, crab like, wrinkled and framed with tusks. It was a monster no doubt about that, but also something familiar in his amber eyes tugged at her memory.

"You!" Susan growled indignation evident in her voice. "You're the one that stole my knickers!"

The creature paused at the tone of voice and trilled soothingly. She was angry at him, he could tell, but he wasn't entirely sure about what other than perhaps her abduction. Things would have been a great deal easier for the young hunter if his knowledge of languages were improved. Yet, he knew a few morbid words.

"Rat'ein." He grunted the name pointing at himself before slowly coasting his index finger in the human's direction. "You!"

"No! You!" Susan shouted and tried desperately to reach the out stretched finger in order to break it but not quite making contact. "You stole my underwear!"

"No! You!" Rat'ein repeated her own words continuing to point.

"Don't copy me!" She bellowed leaning to hard forwards, to attack the creature's digit, and tumbling off the bed.

Crumpled on the floor, Susan yowled in discomfort at having forced tender flesh to react and dually knocked her head. Rat'ein hovered above her, torn between reaching down and plucking the slight female from her roost or backing away so she didn't hit him anymore. His bruised and broken body still ached from violence days past. Looking around the room, as if worried someone might interrupt him, the young hunter knelt down beside the woman as she shook, curled in the foetal position. Easing a hand slowly forward he petted at her mane and stroked its length offering soft comfort. Peeling the tangled layers of hair from her face he blinked curiously as wetness seeped from her closed eyes. Testing it with a finger, finding it warm to touch, he brought a sample to his scent glands before tasting with his tongue. _Salt, water, oil and mucus._ _An eye lubricant,_ he mused not quite understanding why so much was leaking from her orifices but realising by the human's pungent odour she was unhappy.

Carefully, tucking his arms under her fragile form, he lifted her holding her firmly against his chest and rumbled quietly. She continued to shudder as more fluid drifted down her cheek to splash against his torso then opened her eyes as the massaging effect his purr produced made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Looking up the alien smiled down at the little female, though the gesture just appeared disturbing to her, like sticking a horror movie on during a zombie attack and still expecting some nookie. Susan grimaced and ducked her head down so her forehead was leaning against his pectoral. Rat'ein seemed to take great pleasure in the human's apparent ease as she willingly touched him but soon came to understand nothing was as it seemed.

Susan opened her mouth and bit down on his nipple, eliciting a sudden roar from the creature that catapulted her away from him. Crumpling into a heap on the bed, she closed her eyes tight, trying to ignore the acrid burning taste of blood at the back of her teeth and awaited retribution. But none came.

Rolling onto her side, the young woman followed the sounds of excited chattering followed by grunts and swirls of noise that sounded oddly like words. The origin of such being her demented alien friend and a new prick on the block.

"_-hy would it have bit you?"_

"_She is frightened."_ Rat'ein winced as his nipple continued to bleed, blunt teeth managing to cause more sting than injury.

"_And what were you doing to frighten it?"_

"_I did nothing Wy'strn."_ The younger male reeked of guilt. _"She woke up, hit me a few times and started shouting at me in her ooman language. I tried to communicate with her and she tried to attack me but ended up hurting herself. Then when I helped her up she bit me."_

Wy'strn was oblivious to stop the rumble of laughter that expelled from him. His companion sighed at the common response and began blocking the sound from memory.

"_I told you to keep your sick hands off my ooman, hunt brother."_ Wy'strn sobered from his amused status abruptly and glowered down at the younger male. _"I only asked you to watch it because you were confined to bed rest already. No need for me to lose out on valuable training time to act as mother."_

"_Do not infer I am a mother!"_ Rat'ein growled at the challenge finding this particular insult unbearable.

"_I infer nothing. You are just a weak minded youngling with no concept of appropriate relations."_ The larger warrior glared, eyes slit dangerously, almost pleading for trouble. _"You must get this ooman out of your thoughts. Has this experience not taught you anything? It is an animal. It will bite and scratch you; it will kill you as soon as it has the chance. You cannot be complacent and dredge up sexual fantasies of exoticism from it just because your loins ache. The ooman's are good for only one thing. Well maybe two, their pelts are certainly comfortable to wear. If you want sex, kill the ooman's take their skulls and present them to the females. I'm sure you will have your entire fill then."_

"_Wy'strn,"_ Rat'ein sighed, his shoulders slumping forward, submissive. _"This is not about sex anymore. It's... I... Gor'ah has... she was not... it was not..."_

The smaller male looked over at the small creature on the bed; her eyes wide open in wander and alarm. His shoulders slumped forwards as he breathed out an audible sigh of dissatisfaction before signalling the other yautja to follow him into the other room. Somehow this conversation didn't feel right to hold in front of one mildly pertaining to its inclusion, whether or not they could comprehend the words spoken.


	14. Chapter 14 The emperor, the sun and the

**I split this chapter into two as the second scene made it almost 5,000 words. I'll post the other scene tomorrow or later I still need to put it past Mr. Editor.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 14 The emperor, the sun and the moon**

At some point Susan had drifted into a weary sleep against her better judgement. She had wanted to watch the creatures all, well whatever time of day it was if Space had a time of day that is. It always seemed to be some melancholic form of night. Whatever the logistics, Susan was mildly peeved and sore when she awoke and this made her anxiety bare teeth of the grumpy kind. She had never been a morning person, whenever morning was; it certainly felt like a morning hangover.

Idly scratching her head she flipped over until lying prostrate on her back. The bedding was certainly comfortable if not a little unsupportive of the back but the whole laying on road kill thing made her cringe inwardly. It was like being stuck on some never ending tour of the American wild where big capped, chequered shirted hill billies paraded around with over compensating hunting rifles and forced their sons to endure relative murder of fluffy bunnies. Susan had never really been a big fan of the my little pony club for rabbits but that didn't mean she found the idea of shooting them for no other reason than to 'woot' and crack open a beer or two... acceptable. There were far more important reasons to make stupid noises and drink luscious amounts of alcohol. Like getting drunk and attracting a onetime mate one would never look at twice if not intoxicated. The art of alcoholism was a doubled edged sword.

Looking at the ceiling for a moment, shaking off strange dreams of monsters and gratuitous pain, the young woman grimaced as her body ached from tip to toe. She felt as if she'd just taken to many rounds at boxing and faced Mike Tyson, though she was sure her ear was still attached. As the dull throbbing began to subside a little an odd itching sensation came to mind, native to particular areas of skin all over. Scratching at her thigh absentmindedly, Susan pushed herself to sit noticing a light on in the other room.

A burst of golden hues splattered down upon the floor where the wall opened up to reveal an archway into what appeared to be a living room. It was almost painful to look into the stark brightness of the next room comparatively to her dark one but something had caught her attention like a greyhound teased with fake hares. A scattering of cushions and furs of all pattern and colour adorned the centre of the space, more of that cabin fever style of decor ravaged the walls with dead things. Sitting on the floor comfortably a large alien had his back to her, apparently fascinated with something on his lap. As she continued to stare daggers at the black on green mottled skin the monster suddenly stiffened, the muscles in his back contracted in a shiver of instinctual awareness.

Turning his head to look over his shoulder the hunter sought out her eyes and penetrated them like knives. Susan felt a flush touch her cheeks, she looked away before frowning at her own submission and glaring back in the art of blink war. She refused to lose, it could mean the difference between him eating her and thinking twice about it.

After several, eye watering minutes, the creature got up onto his feet snapping a book shut in his hands and disappearing from view. When his form re-emerged he was lacking in paperback and strolled confidently towards her, eyes glued to her defensive gaze. He didn't turn the light on when he entered the bedroom, rather keeping them both in the dark about what she didn't know but all too suddenly a new knowledge drifted into her precognitive drives. She was wearing her birthday suit. As all but the most exhibitionist of her species would, Susan wrapped an embarrassed arm around her bosom and moved her spare limb to cover the other vulnerable part of her anatomy that threatened her dignity. The movement did not go unforeseen neither.

"I would never have desire towards you." Wy'strn tried his best at diplomatic relations.

"W-Why not?!" Susan was instantly incensed. "I'm certainly better looking than you! And how are you speaking English?"

Wy'strn tilted his head in perplexed curiosity. He hadn't expected that she'd want him to find her somehow attractive but the female had long since proved herself to be of a somewhat deluded state of mind.

"I have spent a great many years hunting your species. Your language is primitive, simple. Why would I not be capable of its use?" He watched as she squirmed under his scrutiny desperate to hide her body from view. "You are ugly, small, nothing like my magnificent females."

"Your females?" She instantly disliked him. "What are you some sort of play boy? God, I knew you were a freakin' pervtard. Where are my fucking clothes?!"

Wincing as her voice grew in decibels the warrior groaned knowing the argument wasn't worth it. Instead he turned to a compartment in the wall and pulled it open rummaging inside. He hadn't thought about clothing the animal before, mostly because it didn't seem necessary. The atmosphere was warm enough and nobody would take any notice of a naked human wandering around. Apart from Rat'ein perhaps, the gullible male was getting a hard on for anything that moved it seemed.

Pulling a poorly stitched loincloth from its pile he tested its shape. One of his first solo created items from many years past. He'd been almost half his current size back then, short, lanky and unappealing to the females. It would probably fit the human and had no use to him. He tossed it to the woman, hitting her in the face with it and continued to search through another draw.

Susan grabbed at the material with eager fingers and turned it multiple ways before figuring out the correct shape and pulling it on. The material was strangely cool and textured like velvet in a chocolate colour she wasn't best pleased with.

"What is this made from?" She asked, curious.

"Not ooman." Was her only response.

Still, the reply was dually welcomed as she contemplated what poor creature had been scarified in order to become her hand-me-down knee length skirt. Slipping onto the floor, her bare feet padded wetly against the cold tiles, sending an uninvited shiver through her body as the sheer gap between hot humid atmosphere that half boiled her was stricken deathly cold. Arms laced through one another, hands tight beneath her armpits, Susan continued to hide her ample chest as she watched the alien pulling out lengths of material one after another before replacing them with a shake of his head. Daring to move closer the small human wandered up besides his much larger form and peeked into the compartment he was currently making a mess of. He had a great deal of garments, many fascinating patterns, though the colours were difficult to grasp in the dimly lit room.

Susan reached a hand in and tugged at a particularly ornate looking outfit only to be growled at in warning. She ignored him and continued to pull the item loose only to discover it as some form of embroided scarf. She gave the material a quizzical look and darted back with quick reflexes as the hunter made to grab it from her.

"I like this one." Susan, pulled the scarf around her chest, testing its reach.

"That is not for you." Wys'trn shook a scolding finger as if he were speaking down to a small child. "That is part of a ceremonial toga."

"You have plenty of them." Susan flailed a disregarding hand and continued wrapping the material around her breasts until tight enough to give them some support. "And you did steal my clothes."

"I stole nothing!" Wy'strn made to grab her again, as she was distracted tying the scarf off into a knot against her spine, but missing as she let herself drop flat on the bed. "I am warning you ooman! I could rip your limbs from your body without a second thought!"

"Look, mister big tough, played to many hands of poker and lost at the gentlemen's club, cavaliering immigrant from the distant stars," she grinned up at the fuming creature barely able to keep his fury under control. "This is how I see this bullshit. I'm stuck on some fucktard space ship cruising the storyline of Star Trek so either I'm dreaming all this crap or I've been dragged here for a reason. Now, I don't remember coming here and the last thing I do is some Amazonian bitch looking for a golden shower in my hotel room so I'm going to go with the 'brought here for a reason' choice. If that is so, then whatever reason you got must have been important enough for you to either a, not kill me or b, be horrible enough for me not to care whether or not you de-limb me for a scarf.

Comprehende dick face? "

Wy'strn clicked idly as he drank in her words, ignoring the stranger sounding ones that were obviously insults. Her logic was... stupid, he decided but shook his head and submitted nonetheless. She was right about one thing at least; he did have more ceremonial ware but not the patients to argue with an animal below his station. She could have it, he didn't care enough to argue, and it was old anyway.

Grinning victoriously Susan stood from the bed and continued to reposition the material until it covered half way down to her belly button. The material was much too long and ended up leaving two drifts to dangle down her back from the knot between her shoulder blades. But then again the atmosphere was like the sun had gone on holiday to the rainforest and she'd accidently set up camp next door. Anymore of the fabric covering her pores and she might die from inability to sweat. Didn't mean she enjoyed her flab on display either but maybe she'd finally manage to sweat a few pounds off; that was at least a welcome thought.

However, all such pleasant thinking was instantly ramified when the hunter turned the lights on. She squinted at the abrupt sensory overload and blinked through the pain of light, her hand thrown carelessly over her forehead to shield her down cast eyes. As image and detail regained recognition she sucked in a stunned gargle of air letting her hand fall from her head and drop lifelessly to her side. She trailed the bare flesh on show, unable to move, and winced at every end and beginning of scar tissue. It wasn't just the lattice of silvery flesh that made her lungs refuse to process oxygen but instead the patches of skin. Patches she had only dreamed were taken from her.

A memory of agony, a blade peeling her hide, surfaced and she whimpered pathetically at the onslaught. It was fragmented, a splash of blood, a grinding sound of tiny metal teeth slicing through screaming flesh and an almost flat-chested ogre revelling over her torture. It was real, that nightmare was real. The marred body she looked down upon mirrored every remembrance of blade stroke.

Worse still, the missing pieces had been replaced or re-grown she couldn't tell which but they were not... right. They were... strange, wrong, alien. Sheds of skin discarded by the monster of recollection were now a translucent green, blushed with pink the shade of faded blood and covered in a sun kissed mottle not unlike the creatures in front of hers own patterning.

She began to cry and hyperventilate at the same time petrified to touch her own skin. Wy'strn was restrained to watch as she came to understand her situation, looking on dispassionately at the over emotional display of weakness. He had figured some act of this kind was brewing and using foresight had determined to keep the animal in darkness for as long as possible, least she began chewing her own limbs off. He could believe the small human capable of anything, even self-harm.

"What have you done to me..." Her voice was hoarse, breathless.

"I saved your life."


	15. Chapter 15 They gave me dreams I still

**Sorry it's late; hubby was taking his sweet ass time reading. Next chapter in a couple of days, I've been secretly writing future scenes though.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Pronunciation moment:**

**Ke'laith – Key – laa – th (Keith)**

**Dai-arr'en – Die – Are – En (Darren if you couldn't tell. Lol)**

**And thanks for all the recent faves, though I wish you'd review instead... Yes that was unadulterated attention whoring.**

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**Chapter 15 They gave me dreams I still keep**

Rat'ein laid, arms wide spread, on his sleeping furs and idly kicked the foot attached to the calf draped over his opposite knee. He was bored and unusually thoughtful. Perhaps it was just all the boredom making his imagination wonder through the corridors of memory and fantasy. Flaring his mandibles in a sign of exacerbation, the young hunter made to stretch out, un-tensing his muscles and rejoicing in the soft click and pop of tendons wound uncomfortably tight.

Swinging his legs off the bed, he decided to get up and find something to do before his train of thinking found its way back to soft cascades of hair draped over weakness. He was feeling much better after the past several days of rest, the broken bones having knitted together tight enough to allow ease of movement once more. Yet, there was still the occasional creak and burst of irritated soreness when certain areas became over used. A good lengthy workout would de-stress the knots in his muscles, strengthen the mending areas and hopefully relieve some of his wandering desires. Anything to get away from such a confined room.

Making his way through the small hunting ships walkways, Rat'ein edged closer to the training room eager for sweat and fatigue. The public areas of the vessel felt cold and lonely, its occupants elsewhere getting ready for their arrival back at the clan ship. He too, for once, was looking forward to their return; it was a very rare thing for him to be around larger groups. The young warrior had spent most of the past four years jumping from vessel to vessel in order to continue the hunt, never staying with one group long enough to make significant relations. Wy'strn was possibly the first assemblage of a friend he'd made since childhood and after the discussion that lead to the discovery of his father's ignominious intentions towards him, Rat'ein had come to a rather grown up decision. He was not going to listen to the old coot anymore and further this would be his new home. Never again did he plan to jump ship, change quarters and all that bothersome moving of trophies. It wasn't so bad in the beginning when he scarcely had substance to his name but after four years of continuous violence there was quite an envious stack smothering his walls like a plague of locusts. He was sure that would give him big enough a name for a while and allow him the more leisurely pursuits his fellow hunters often basked in. Things were looking up, sort of. There was still the problem with...

"Gor'ah." Rat'ein ducked his head in a show of respect to the female swaggering towards him.

She was moist, sticky and reeked of lingering battle. It was probably the second most relaxed he'd ever seen her, the first being after her third climax in his chambers. The thought smacked him harshly back to reality as he recalled the jarring unpleasantness of pain and pleasure that droned in the back of his skull during those distant hours then the final collision their bodies had undertaken.

"Rat'ein." The goliath paused in order to survey her previous trophy and then shook the perspiration from her tresses. "I have been meaning to speak to you."

"Yes, hunt sister." The familiarity he identified her by felt correct for this situation.

"You are well?" Her voice was surprisingly concerned and made him look up intrigued. "I understand my temper can be bone shattering. Wy'strn has no doubt spun you tales."

"I do not think I have known your blood brother long enough for such intimate stories."

"I see." Gor'ah observed him as a moment of silence grasped them both before dusting it away with a gentle rumble. "My brother is a child of the wilderness. Carefree, beguiling. He befriends only those of equal worth. He has spoken highly of you without words, yet I should have realized your biggest flaw."

"Flaw?" Rat'ein stiffened waiting for some accusation of bestiality or equal insult that was near enough the truth of it.

"You are both children." She continued, grappling the males shoulder in a tight embrace of easiness. "I just did not realise you were the emotionally weaker kind."

Rat'ein's eyes boggled for a second as his pride attempted to leap up through his throat and throttle the female. However, the feeling was soon squelched down into surrender as she began to purr for him, apparently having noted the dishevelled hurt in his eyes. It took what remaining allies of humility he had floating around to withhold that drifting yearning to sink into her bosom like a small pup at the soothing noise. Instead, he blinked back brimming sentiment and bowed his head in obedience to her station.

"Let me offer you some advice young one." Gor'ah, stepped closer in order to rub his shoulders affectionately. "You will grow, become wise and know yourself better than you do now. Until then let not pride and foolish action lead you blindly. What you want in life can never be fixed with single instinctual action but rather with being willing to offer yourself as collateral. I have a feeling you will not be one who enjoys being a number in a females harem nor one to care for a harem of your own. Perhaps a single mate will suit you in later life."

Rat'ein's eyes darted from side to side, mulling over her words like gospel infliction. When he finally looked up and nodded in acceptance she smiled reassuringly from her eyes and cuffed his shoulder in association. Letting her digits linger affectionately down his rust coloured hide, moving past him, she gave a quiet chuff of intrigue at such a promising prodigy of a hunter infested so clearly with soft recesses of imperfection. She supposed true perfection would have been ugly and that the faults created the basis to take note and look deeper under the skin to untainted skill possessed. Perfection was a fantasy; a hunter with no blemish was just a killer.

As the female cleared the scene, leaving Rat'ein to sigh an uneasy inhalation, he discovered more than ever he needed to work the brooding thoughts in his head into oblivion. The training room was not far now, yet his feet felt heavy and weighed down with every step. Luckily, down a conjoining route a new figure came into sight, crouched in front of an open access port and tinkering with wiring. His fellow warrior paid him no mind when he came up beside him to admire the mending of ship systems but he felt the need to press the subject for some mental relief.

"Lari, why do you rejoice in such menial labour?" Rat'ein bent lower to get a closer look, not understand the purpose of such technology. "Should you not have trained as a technician rather than a hunter?"

"I have ambition." Lari continued his work, not taking the time to look up at the smaller male.

"Ambition?" He hoped for further verification but simply received disinterested silence. "Ambition to become a technician that was once a warrior?"

Lari paused his work, turning his head slowly to look up at the bobbing male, with dangerous intent written all over his face. The younger male quickly scooted back, clearing his throat in deliberate disquiet.

"I shall leave you to your duties." Rat'ein almost broke into a run as the sensation of eyes following him out of sight rippled through his muscles.

There was something untoward, unnerving about Lari. His permanent poise, that only broke to dish out retribution, toppled with his anti-social attitude. Rat'ein was sure the older hunter had never had friends, even as a child; he had probably been as aloof as he was now. That didn't mean the younger hunter didn't look up to him though. Lari was a great many un-pleasantries but he was still a formidable warrior and a decorated hunter. As much as he and Wy'strn feuded over territory they both knew in their hearts Lari's wall had the better trophies. It was just head banging for attention and perhaps somewhere in their two enemies were better friends than they would ever let on.

Rat'ein shook his head, chuckling at the thought, as he disappeared behind a closing portal.

* * *

Lari watched the whelp until out of sight and turned back to his work with a stout grumble of annoyance. The young were seemingly duller with every generation and lacked the foresight for true aspiration. He hoped broadly his own offspring had made it higher up the gene pool. Pondering a moment on the subject the warrior deliberated seeking out his handful of descendents to mentor but that would take time away from his own pursuits. No, he was very picky about the females he allowed to carry his seed, most conjuring little but lust whilst a scarce few the knowledge any child born to them would be strong and well educated. They did not need him, he made sure of that, and if they did they were obviously too weak to warrant his time. Lari had no patients for the feeble or more accurately, he had no opinion on them. They were a nonentity, neither rival nor worthy ally, it was simple deduction.

Crusting off the last remnants of fused casing and wire, the warrior turned engineer, began to meld into place a new current line. It was prudent Lari was so content to tedious and repetitive tasks or he probably would have ripped the wire out from the system long ago rather than attempting to repair the pre-existing one. It would have taken much longer to have completely replaced the old line anyway, but significantly less infuriating. The practice of patching with little to no resources, rather than wasting valuable materials on complete system overhauls, was definitely worth the added experience. He could already taste the knowledge of his future wishes coming closer to fruit.

Soldering the last connection together, he closed the casing and started up the power conduit. The system came online after a short warm up and instantly went back to its previously disturbed task. Why the system had fused originally had not become apparent during his initial assessment, further monitoring and diagnostic would be needed from the command systems, though he had his suspicion there were gremlins behind the walls; not the mythological kind either, but the small, scaly pest kind. He clearly hoped his inkling would be proved false, that some overload had simply occurred, but things were never so easy. In the end he'd probably end up stomach flat in some claustrophobic duct hunting rodents like some feline pet, at least they tasted reasonably good. Lari wished the clan requisitions office would allow their vessel a feline for just such infestations but they had been surprisingly stubborn about the subject since an unfortunate occurrence almost a century ago where in their previous ships cat was sat on by a very drunk hunter by the name of, Dai-arr'en. The hunter in question had consequently been reassigned to various guard duties elsewhere as punishment but requisition still cast the shadow of doubt at the ships various occupants. _Perhaps, Wy'strn's new pet ooman would be suitable to the task_, Lari considered soberly before shaking his head at the thought of a human as capable as a feline.

Closing the maintenance hatch the lone hunter stood placing his work tools back into their pouch and began the saunter to command. Upon entry a similarly, cream, coloured yautja spun around in his chair to weight him up before turning back to his console and the view screen depicting a monolith ship in the far distance. The sight brought nostalgic feelings to the base of everybody's throats, a home of sorts for wanders that take their shells with them. Coming to a halt behind the pilot, Lari breathed in the presence of the clan ship nearing them at a teasing pace.

"How long?" He asked, knowing the other would understand his meaning.

"Twelve minutes." The gangly version of Lari responded. "We have already been cleared to dock, portside."

Lari nodded even though the pilot could not see the interaction and strolled to a diagnostics console to his right. From here he could run tests on the circuit boards and an additional sweep of the ships conduits for unwanted guests. Paya, did he hope it was dodgy wiring.

"Blood brother, have you heard from our sire yet?" The pilot glanced in his direction.

"Yes."

"Then you will attend his ending ceremony?"

"No."

"As I thought." The pilot sounded disappointed. "Our mothers will be upset."

"Then he should have died like a warrior rather than an old man waiting for death." Lari was feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, the only familiarity the pair had was that of an estranged father. "Let the women fondle over him until Centanu comes for him. He will enjoy the attention."

"Do you not wonder who will attend your ending, blood brother?"

"No." The older brother looked thoughtful for a moment. "I would not be so selfish as to live until my body's natural demise. I would not expect the same for you, Ke'laith. You are not hunter perhaps that is why our sire's demise bothers you. You are worried no female will come to your end and smother you with kisses."

Ke'laith barely restrained the building mirth within his diaphragm at his brother's words. It was true they had no deep basis of brotherly affection, separate mothers and equally different upbringings, but something within the pair had always clicked. Ke'laith presumed, by his brother's attitude towards the others, that it was some form of narcissism. The pair did look very alike, creamy hides, olive eyes and equal height. The only difference between them was that of muscularity, Lari having all of it leaving his younger sibling with a bare minimal amount, and the stripes that adorned their outer areas. Ke'laith had black patterning like his maternal parent where in Lari the burning orange of their sire. Still, the younger relative knew better than to push his luck with the warrior besides him. When Lari was in a good mood it was better to take that willing communication offered and back away before his good will dissolved.

Leaning forward, Ke'laith tugged a switch down and held a button above his head. His eyes darting between calculations and scrolling text across the panels; he awaited the swift crackle that confirmed the intercom was online and began addressing the air.

"Docking with clan ship in thirty seconds." He warned, letting go of the overhead switch and let his fingers dance wildly across the console.

Lari paused his diagnostic in order to brace himself against his terminal, eyes lingering to the screen demonstrating a precision docking. The ship spun around until running parallel with the larger clan vessel, matching velocity as they slipped into its wake. As the push and pull of eddy's between the ships synchronised, the pilot steered them in slowly, brushing the side of their hunting vessel against the larger one until the clamps found their perch and suctioned them in. Ke'laith abruptly hit the off switch on the engines, in order to prevent hull tearing, and let the clan vessel take control of steering for the time being. From now until they disembarked the two ships were in all essence and practically one, the smaller having attached itself to become just another section of ship like a Lego piece. Most of the clan vessel was made up of big and small ships connected to it; only the very centre was actually the original starting point.

For the most part the vessels were of an average size, housing approximately twenty or so occupants, the rest varied between single occupied to several thousands. The biggest collection of living quarters, however, was that of the main ship where the bulk of the clan lived, traded and created a self sufficient life style. No member of yautja society was allowed to be a burden; they all contributed in some manner, even hunters. Lari had found his extra curriculum activity in engineering; Ke'laith was already a pilot by trade and took care of ship supply and trade. They ran their separate ships like mini districts, complete with council tax. Many hunters typically made up for their drain upon society by providing outside goods such as furs and meats that were always welcomed.

Turning off the view screen, Ke'laith cracked his neck and began the tedious task of inventory and supply demands to be sent to requisition. The request for a new ships cat was always sat at the top of that list in some hope a good humoured worker would stop shaking their stigma at them like a stick. It was unlikely such a miracle would happen within any of their lifetimes, maybe the small vessel was doomed for all eternity.


	16. Chapter 16 Rubies, friction this is what

**Sorry for the tardiness. I added an extra scene to say sorry. You can probably notice some sort of resemblance to a story coming together now with the other characters. I have some plans. Mostly devious ones.**

**Hopefully next chapter in a couple of days but my anaemia is dangerous at the moment so I'm generally just sleeping and enjoying a couple of days off work. Will see, hubby is getting over excited about story at the moment so he'll probably drag me to a computer and force me anyway. Isn't he lovely? lol**

**Pronunciation:**

**Thei'wei-dor – Fee – Wee – Door (Theodore)**

**Larik – La – Rik (Rick)**

* * *

**Chapter 16 Rubies, friction this is what you chose**

"No. No! NO!" Susan screamed from behind a locked door.

She'd been in their shouting her refusal of the situation for the past several hours. He wasn't even sure how she'd figured out how to lock the bathroom door on her own. Still, the little human didn't sound as if she was hurting herself, just crying and babbling nonsense like a delirious monkey. It didn't bother him; not really, Wy'strn was in the middle of a very good book. All that shouting was probably good for her on some lower life form level anyway; maybe it made her feel special and intelligent to know how to use language so profusely.

Sniggering as a particularly amusing part in his book found his eyes; Wy'strn re-adjusted his position on the cushions to a far more relaxed one and draped the old tome over his head to read lying down. The protagonist was currently speaking to a female about his rather thick lancer and receiving a number of jovial replies at the innuendo. Wy'strn did enjoy a well written masterpiece that somehow made it into the realms of activities performed under bed sheets. Of course it had to have a good backing of monsters and war too, otherwise it was just porn and he didn't think he needed to lower himself to such degrading material. At least now if he was feeling a little lonely he could make his new human pet stand still whilst he admired her chest; but she'd need to keep the clothes on and hide her face, the magic would be broken otherwise.

Shuddering at the thought he tilted his head up so he was looking directly at the bathroom door behind him. The little female was starting to lose her founding vigour and lose in volume and frequency of shouting. There was still the occasional 'why' and 'fuck' but it was becoming quieter in there; no doubt she was getting tired even after days of rejuvenating sleep. He still couldn't believe all that gene manipulating mumbo jumbo had actually worked; he'd been sure for the longest time that the doctor had lost his marbles and the human would die. Lucky for him she was the grand stubborn type and clung to life like moss to a tree; if she had died on that table he'd of been in far less a good mood than he was now, book or no book. There was still the problem of the elder though; hopefully he'd be charitable and understanding. Wy'strn struggled to hold his laughter at bay after that particular line of thinking; the elder, reasonable that was a joke in itself.

Putting his book down as the intercom buzzed into life, informing him the ship was docking; Wy'strn got up and knocked on the bathroom door. At first there was no answer but after the second, louder knock, an incoherent voice screamed something at him. He thought out the sounds for a second but realised it had simply been nonsensical and knocked a third time.

"Hold on to something." He shouted through the door receiving nothing but a 'fuck you' as response.

Shaking his head at the stupidity of the female, Wy'strn grabbed the side of the door and waited out the rock and turbulence as the ship connected to its peer. In the other room there was a crash and thud as the human obviously ignoring his good intentions of warning slipped on the tiles and found her way to the floor. He could hear her groaning and swearing like a sailor and rolled his eyes in exacerbated retort. At least she wasn't dead in there he mused as the vessels shuddering eased off and finally stopped all together.

Knocking on the door again, Wy'strn hoped secretly she'd knocked her head hard enough to be nice and reasonable but that was hardly rational thinking. However, he did get a better answer this time rather than the standard insult.

"What?!" Susan bellowed obviously pissed.

"I need to use the toilet."

"Oh." She wasn't prepared for such a simple request and mulled over her response. "I-I don't know how to get out of here. The door, it looks like the wall."

"How did you lock yourself in, in the first place?" Wy'strn grumbled darkly and sighed as realisation dawn on him, things would probably be this way forever, or at least until the human died.

"I don't know!" She shouted back. "I was just throwing your stuff around and it locked!"

"Well, don't throw things next time." He scolded. "Follow my voice; I am standing directly outside the door. Can you do that?"

"Of course I bloody well can! I'm not an idiot!" She roared and flung something at the other side of the door, making a dull thud as it hit. "You're right here, right? Now what? Do I just push it?"

"No." The hunter rubbed his palm down the length of his face and took a deep calming breath. "Look to your right. There should be a small console."

"I don't see anything."

"Try your other right."

"Oh, here it is!" Susan grinned like a child having discovered fusion power as the door slid open in vertical fashion. "I told you I wasn't an idiot! Dick face."

"Yes, yes." Wy'strn shooed the creature from his bathroom and locked himself inside. "Dear Paya! What have you done in here ooman?!"

"You're toilet looks like the wall too." Susan yelled behind her as she scurried away to hide.

* * *

Elder Thei'wei-dor, paced back and forth inside his council chambers, causing an echo of stomping in the great space. He'd been there, doing this, for the past forty minutes ever since medic Gou'lieavra submitted his disturbing report of misconduct and vandalism of a human. He was currently in a state of infuriation coupled with bunching bands of wanton loathing and the chambers other occupants were equally as disturbed; though perhaps not about the same thing.

A rogue guardsman had already fallen victim to the elder's impeccable version of a three-year-olds tantrum and was lounging unconscious against the back wall, under a giant tapestry of a past elder, where he had been tossed several minutes earlier. None of the other guards or vaguely important people hanging around the room felt the need to gain unnecessary attention by helping their fellow yautja; when Thei'wei-dor was in one of his moods blood tended to flow, staining the tiled floor a disconcerting shade of green. It already glowed when you turned the damn lights off.

The elder stopped mid-stride as the main doors to the great hall opened, revealing a pair of figures, one much larger than the other. Thei'wei-dor snarled his outrage and beckoned them closer before composing himself into a respectable stance of muted death dealing. Folding his arms tight across his chest, the old warrior inspected the male in front of him, disdain apparent in his every body movement. When a sufficient amount of intimidating silence had passed, the room having held its breath meanwhile, Thei'wei-dor cocked his head and grunted; never letting his eyes wondered down to the human besmirching his office and sending ripples of disgust through his body.

"Why do I recognise that gormless face of yours, hunter?" The elder moved forward, his hands changing position to clasp behind his back, as he thrust his chest up against Wy'strn's. "I certainly do not know of your name."

"I do not know, Elder." Wy'strn lied, badly, but still continued to stare over the elders shoulder at an over embellished chair.

"Is that so?" Thei'wei-dor pressed his face uncomfortable close, letting the younger male see the whites of his eyes before breaking away with an elaborate hand gesture. "You lower hunters all look the same. No pride in your work, no fierce determination just lust and pampering. In my younger years we didn't come home until everything was dead and we'd drawn daggers with Centanu at least twice in any single hunt. It was epic, the stories of my past will survive even the ends of the universe, I am sure Paya will see to it for am I not her most favoured hunter?"

There was a garble of agreement from the small crowd that littered the hall, mostly clinging to a red glowing wall or a pillar with no use on a space ship, and a pleased rumble from their boss. Wy'strn on the other hand rolled his eyes, when the elder wasn't looking, having read many of Thei'wei-dor's tales of grandeur and writing them all off as over-exaggerated fairy tale. The pompous old man was nothing but a wind bag with power and a bad temper.

"_Oi, dick face?"_ Susan prodded her yautja in the ribs, whilst the elder began recounting some ridiculous story about a giant squid, a pole and an alluring female fawning over him. _"What's this, dressed in more sparkles and bling than a rappers convention, whittling on about? He sounds like a pussy faced shit for brains."_

"_Uh..."_ Wy'strn wasn't entirely sure he comprehended everything she had just spoken but grasped the general picture. _"He was insulting me, then insulting the current generation of warriors and is now recounting a tale of heroism and fornication."_

"_Like I said,"_ Susan groaned. _"A pussy faced, shit for brains. When can we go? Or at least can I go eat something and sit down, the floors cold and my legs hurt. You know, you walk really fast! I had to run to keep up with you, the least you could have done was carry me."_

Wy'strn chuffed and shook his head at his human's antics, petting her head like a puppy to her annoyance and received a swift kick in the shins.

"Now, about your..." Thei'wei-dor rounded on the hunter, evidently finished singing his own praises. "Crime, shall we call it. Yes, I think we shall. I was more than a little vexed with the medic's report. Forcing that impotent fool to perform experiments on a dead animal and giving it your own DNA in the process."

"_Is he talking about me?"_ Susan frowned, crossing her arms defensively. _"I get the feeling mister bling shoved up his arse is talking about me by the way he keeps intentionally not looking at me."_

"The ooman was not dead at the time." Wy'strn ignored the high pitched whine coming from somewhere below his eye level. "I was trying t-"

"Dead, alive neither matters." Thei'wei-dor flailed a hand. "I am truly outrag-"

"_WILL YOU STOP FUCKING IGNORING ME!"_

Susan's little, red faced, outburst finally caught the two yautja's attention as the Elder for the first time glared down at her. For a moment she truly believed he was going to gut her with his penetrative stare and audibly gulped back the saliva building in her mouth. Now mister bling was looming down at her he seemed a lot bigger and pissed off than she'd previously realized and found her legs buckling beneath her until her rear hit cold metal flooring. She shivered involuntarily at the sensation of icy metal against her naked buttocks and mentally cursed at the lack of underwear that came with alien's skirts.

"This is the ooman." Thei'wei-dor made a guttural sound of displeasure as his eyes ran over her bare flesh, making the young woman feel violated. "What have you done to it?"

"The ooman was skinned." Wy'strn fought back the urge to step between his charge and the elder gloating over her like the spoils of war. "Gou'lieavra-"

"Who?"

"The ships medic."

"Yes, yes." The elder swirled his hand in the air, breaking eye contact with the little human long enough to allow her to get up and scurry behind Wy'strn for safety. "The incompetent laggard that ministrants the feeble members of your faction. Continue..."

"Gou'lieavra used my genetic superiority to-"

"That is an over statement." Thei'wei-dor began to swagger around the centre of the room as if he had purpose. "If your genetics were superior I am sure your name and lineage would be so great one would only need look at the newest offspring to know your face."

"Yes, elder." Wy'strn was on the verge of outright murder. "I shall amend my previous statement... The medic used my mediocre genetics-"

"Better."

"-to give the ooman a better healing factor." He continued, blocking out the smug gits face the best he could. "No other enhancements have occurred as I understand them. It is just a normal ooman otherwise."

"But with better regeneration. "The elder was momentarily lost in thought, tracking the human diligently behind her master. "It would survive the hunt much longer; perhaps create a more challenging subject. Let me see the creature."

Wy'strn didn't like where this was going, especially when the elder made a stealthy strike behind his back and secured the little female by the arm, yanking her out of cover. Susan gasped, then screamed, and flailing like a rabbit on the edge and tried to kick and bite the elder at every chance. Wy'strn on the other hand was stuck to the spot, unable to move in for the rescue against such a figurehead of the clan. As Thei'wei-dor dangled the human by her arm in front of him, meeting her eyes at his level, she abruptly stopped her fight and stared wide eyed in terror at the miss-mash of scars that was the elder. His silver locks not giving away any signs of old frailty when it was followed by a body that could probably crush a freight train with the slightest body movement. His grip on her arm was incredibly uncomfortable, if that was any guide to his true strength. If this was him being nice she really didn't want to find out what angry was especially as her entire arm had gone dead in the first few seconds of contact; by that information Susan as an entirety would most likely be dead in the time it took to blink.

Shaking her a little, like a rag doll, the elder began running his opposite hand over her various scars making her feel rather more sullied than before. After a few moments of admiring her new yautja style patterning he turned to look at his crowd of un-eager victims, showing her to them like some trophy.

"Should we not try this new improved creature out?" The elder chuckled. "If it proves better amusement than hunting dark acid spitters then perhaps we should alter the entire ooman species. Make it the new bloodi- Ah!"

The entire chamber took a sudden inhalation at once, making the room rather deprived of life giving air molecules before the life-support system kicked in to refill it. Watching in sheer horror, Wy'strn couldn't take his eyes of the scene in front of him. Susan, having had enough of the wind bag prattling on again whilst he shook her about, had shot her free hand up into the elder face latching onto a tusk and ripping it away eliciting a blood curdling scream from her prey. Thrown away like garbage, she landed at her hunter's feet, still holding onto the appendage in her fist and crawled desperately between Wy'strn's legs. He stood stock still over her, his muscles tensing ready for a fight.

"That fucking ooman!" Thei'wei-dor spat, cradling his wounded face. "You did not warn me it was feral!"

"It's an ooman. They are all feral, elder." Another, less notable elder, chimed in helpfully receiving a snarling response.

"I claim that thing as trophy!" The elder stomped forward only to have a large, green speckled paw block his progress. "Out of my way!"

"No." Wy'strn rumbled a sound low in his chest. "My honour is tied to it."

"I do not care about your honour!" He barked, shoving Wy'strn's arm away only to be pushed back with the others chest thumping against his. "It has maimed me! I wi-"

"Elder Thei'wei-dor." The less notable elder called out a second time to his leader. "You cannot steal another hunter's trophy, dead or alive. It is written. Theft will lead to your status demolished and a new one given to you as badb-"

"I KNOW LARIK!" He roared storming towards the other elder and holding him hostage against a pillar. "I am clan elder. I rule. I understand my own law."

"Yautja law." Larik corrected, apparently old age did something for ones sense of courage. "It is not yours."

"You have a death wish old man."

"Have you not heard, Thei'wei-dor?" The frailer elder smiled. "My end ceremony is scheduled in four days time. If you killed me now, not only would you be forfeit rule but grant me a rather more respected death."

"Then may you live forever." Thei'wei-dor whispered his curse only loud enough for the pair to here before turning away in disgust. "Take the ooman from my sight. I never wish to see it again."

"Yes, elder." Wy'strn bowed low, as a sign of submission and respect to his leader, snatching up his human in a single stroke and depositing her over his shoulder without struggle.

"One more thing..." The elder was now sitting in his over the top chair dabbing at his wound with a heavily embroided cloth. "It will not be a burden. Find it some use or society's law will severe its head. That at least I can control."


	17. Chapter 17 Fade away translucent glow

**Sorry it's late. I waited 3 days for Hubby to read this and finally cornered him this morning. He had just woken up though so he was very incoherent.**

**Thank you to everybody that has been faving and alerting this story. Reviews are always loved too! lol**

**Not sure when the next chapter will be as my anaemia is still playing up.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 17 Fade away translucent glow**

Steam bellowed up from the large pool in the centre of the room, the consistently hot water it evaporated from creating a swirl of reflective light against the high ceiling and walls. The communal bath was almost incomprehensible to the naked eye through the sheer waves of cloudy cover; dark and foreboding caused by glowing red symbols dancing up the walls. The liquid contents of the oversized tub, wedged firmly into the black tiled floor, the perfect mixture of creamy minerals and putrid green disinfectant the sparse individuals currently occupying simply relished in.

Rat'ein, however, had already had enough of the relaxing soak and was pulling himself from its charms back to the aired world. With a shake of his head, dislodging the tumbling droplets entwined there, the young hunter discovered his previously discarded loin cloth and instantly sought to cover his intimate areas. He was in no way ashamed of himself but covering ones lower abdomen had simply been the norm of things for millennia; it also tended not to frighten less endowed males, though perhaps that was the point, to give every male an equal footing. Whatever the logistics the young hunter was perfectly impartial to it and eager to evacuate the moist atmosphere.

Upon exiting the bathing area, he came out into a corridor lost in precarious thinking. He had decisions to make; more to the point he needed to decide upon a secondary trade now he had broken away from his sire and no longer spent every moment on the hunt procuring items of worth to society. For quiet times like the ones back at the clan ship he had to have a part-time job of sorts. Lari had his engineering, Wy'strn had whatever Wy'strn had; he wasn't entirely sure what his friend did now he thought about it but it seemed to involve a great deal of books. Pondering his current dilemma, as well as Wy'strn's affairs, Rat'ein found his feet padding softly towards the older warriors quarters. Reaching the indistinguishable door, among many, he brushed his index finger against the notification button and awaited a response.

In a matter of seconds the door rushed open revealing the larger hunter, worn and unnerved in appearance, blocking the view into his apartment. Recognising his companion, Wy'strn's demeanour instantly softened into a jovial interpretation and stepped aside to allow the other entrance.

"Rat'ein." Wy'strn closed the door behind them and went directly back to his place amongst the cushions and furs lining the floor. "What brings you this evening?"

"Hunt brother," The younger male kept to standing, phased by his friend's original expression. "You seem out of sorts."

"Perhaps." He picked up the book he had been reading and flipped open to a predetermined page. "There was a meeting with the elder."

"My sire?"

"Yes." Wy'strn feigned disinterest as his eyes followed the words on the page. "He desired to discuss the matter of the ooman."

"And?" Rat'ein moved closer, eager to hear whatever news was coming.

"And all is well." He flicked over to a new page.

"That is most... agreeable."

"Indeed."

"The female?" Rat'ein began to look around the book filled room for signs of other life. "She is safe?"

"The ooman is safe." Wy'strn confirmed, casting a suspicious eye at the younger male, who instantly stopped his prowling in order to appear disinterested. "It is asleep."

"Again?" A note of concern oozed uncontrollably from his voice.

"Ooman's need more sleep than us." Wy'strn waved an arm indicating Rat'ein to sit. "They are small and fragile. Now tell me why have you come visiting me?"

"I-that is. Well... pending my decision to stay here... I mean on this ship, I am left pondering my next actions." The smaller male moved closer and sat, cross legged opposite his companion. "I am not sure what to do. What skills I have to offer beyond hunting."

"A difficult decision." Wy'strn thumbed over another page. "One you cannot make lightly. You are looking for suggestion?"

"Uh-yes. Advice mostly." Rat'ein nodded like a student's yield to the teacher's wisdom. "What do you yourself do, hunt brother?"

"Instruct."

"Fighting styles and hunting?" Rat'ein was impressed and spurred on. "Perhaps I could do something similar?"

"Maybe." The larger male grunted a bout of mirth. "But I am no instructor of violence and concealment. I teach our histories stories and prepare those willing to conjure their own."

"You're... a wordsmith?" Rat'ein was highly shocked; at least this explained his bragging now.

"Not personally, no." Wy'strn grinned as he turned back to his book. "I have an invested interest in history above all else. Have you never read the tales of yautja past? They are quite fascinating."

Rat'ein's mind was currently reeling as new information breeched his defences, displacing the view of his friend he had carried for the last several months. The thought of Wy'strn, the lecherous braggart with a sense of humour as dark as darkness itself, being a... dare he think it... intellectual, made his skin wish to invert itself. It was a little too much to take on board so suddenly.

"No-I... oh." Rat'ein went quiet before standing up again and moving to lean against a wall. "Hunt brother, I... Do you think of me as stupid?"

"Naive, yes." The older male's response was so abrupt it caught the other male like a punch to the gut.

"Yes, I-I understand..." He trailed off into silence, folding his arms as he watched his feet with a sigh.

"Instruct young ones bellow a decade in age." Wy'strn continued his advice giving session after a short deliberation. "There is always a need for trainers for the younger ones. Nobody older would respect you enough due to your deficiency in age. I am sure you will find satisfaction."

"Yes, hunt brother." Rat'ein nodded still weakened from the previous assault. "I will take your counsel into consideration."

Wy'strn rumbled his general response and leaned back on the pillows into his favoured reading position. A silence descended upon the pair that was neither uncomfortable nor unwelcomed; Rat'ein was obviously caught up in self reflection that would probably require further advice and Wy'strn was merry as sin over his book of the life of Thei'wei-dor, the clan elder. It wasn't until a patter of bare feet on cold tiled floor, followed by a tired yawn, caught the pair's attention and brought them away from their respective tasks.

Susan stopped as she entered the living room, rubbing her eyes with her palms, and yawned a second time before looking around through blurred eyes. Blinking back the accumulated gunk of congealed eye mucus, she focused in on the lounging form of Wy'strn staring intently at something across from her on the wall. Following his gaze her eyes instantly slit into a stern glare at the second figure watching her with enchanted fascination.

"_What is that bastard doing here?"_ She growled.

"What did she say?" Rat'ein was positively humming with enthralment.

"She wishes to know what your illegitimate self is doing in my quarters." Wy'strn translated. "Perhaps you should leave Rat'ein. You do not wish to become tempted."

"Hunt brother, I already made my promise to you that I would not allow desires towards your ooman."

"_Well are you going to answer me or do I need to rip his face things off too?"_ Susan was getting angry and beginning to shout.

"Why does she have a mandible around her neck?" Rat'ein found himself pointing at the strange necklace.

"What? Oh..." Wy'strn sighed, dropping his book over his stomach. _"Ooman, I told you to get rid of that thing!"_

"_Fuck you!"_

"It is your sire's mandible." The larger male was barely able to keep his snigger under wraps. "She attacked him during the meeting. He entirely deserved it."

"I-I'm not sure I wish to know the details, Wy'strn."

"Fair enough." Wy'strn lifted his book up to meet his eyes again before small hands tried to pry it from him. _"Ooman! Let go!"_

"_Make him go away!"_ Susan, ineffectively, began a tug of war with the larger alien.

"_I will do nothing of the sort."_ He flicked her across the forehead with his index finger and chuckled as she clutched at the affected area, cursing his existence.

Defeated, Susan stalked away in a strop, pressing her rear against the wall and initiated a new ambition of glaring down the young hunter. Rat'ein found the little females behaviour captivating and began his own systematic appraisal of the other creature, failing to grasp her apparent disdain towards him. This only made her glower harder, causing a rising bout of tension headache from the strain, without apparent success. The young male merely took a step closer, leaving his own sanctuary like wall, and made a gesture of the hand universal for peace. Susan returned a hand signal of her own but this one mimicked the disgusted look in her eyes; however, Rat'ein was too young a creature to have studied human behaviour so the subtext was lost on him.

"Hunt brother?" Rat'ein edged a little closer still and lowered his body a smidgen to seem less intimidating. "Teach me some ooman words. I wish to communicate with her."

"Why?" Wy'strn responded coolly. "It has nothing intelligent to say."

"I am curious, Wy'strn." He looked away from the human long enough to catch Wy'strn's unconvinced stare. "I will need to learn the ooman language to better my hunting skills. What better way than to learn from the source?"

Wy'strn chuffed at the younger male's response and titled his gaze back to the words on the page with a shake of his head. Rat'ein sagged a little at the lack of reply and turned back to the female only to find she had disappeared. Giving a light, exclaiming grunt, he stood straight once again and looked around the room trying to hunt the creature down. He was genuinely surprised she'd managed to creep away from right under his nose, not making the slightest excess of sound doing so, and was concealing herself quite well. On the other hand the loud clanging sound coming from the apartments store room was a dead giveaway.

At the crash and clatter of metal on metal, Wy'strn was up like a teenage boy in a strip club and upon the store room's doorway with resolute purpose. The younger male was resigned to stay out of the confrontation currently taking place in the other room but that didn't mean he wasn't going to eaves drop on the muffled curses and exclamations in the human's language creeping through the doorway. If the medley of high pitched and deep rumbling voices were anything to go by, the little female had obviously just caused some catastrophic incursion of nuisance and Wy'strn was very angry about it. Wincing at the sheer volume of the pair exiting the store room, or at least Wy'strn exiting whilst carrying the human by the scruff of her neck, Rat'ein moved back to the safety of his wall.

"_PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN YOU OVERSIZED LOBSTER!"_ Susan screamed in his face, struggling against his grip with all her might.

"_I told you to keep away from my weapons!"_ Wy'strn dropped the little female on her rear and pointed a scolding finger directly in her face, remembering to dodge her blunt teeth. _"Why do you not listen?"_

"_I listen fine!"_ She slapped his hand away and stood only to be shoved down onto her knees. _"Leave me the fuck alone you dirty son of a bitch!"_

"_Stop misbehaving and listen and I will be more than happy to leave you alone, child."_

Susan gaped, her cheeks visibly turning red, as she shook with a mixture of antagonism and incensed mortification. Wy'strn huffed an audible sigh of relief at the female's lapse into silence and only hoped it would last. As neurons began pelting one another, like raindrops colliding with a tin roof, Susan's vocal chords warmed up releasing bursts of stuttered words; but making no sense. As she blinked back her shock, the young woman folded her arms tightly around her torso as Wy'strn lay back down on his previously warped cushions.

"_I'm not a child."_ She grumbled quietly, giving the ground a solid frown. _"I'm twenty six."_

As Wy'strn's lack of response reached her muted frustration, Susan came to a startling realisation: perhaps things are never as final as they first seem and maybe she was acting like a crazy bitch for no reason. Closing her lids against an onslaught of tears prickling the edges of her eyes she took a deep breath, listening to its soothing progress lapping like rhythmical waves in her inner ear. She really needed to calm down; the last god knows how long had just been the rollercoaster of a lifetime and her stomach needed to stop churning out the vomit her mouth had been spewing at everybody. Susan may not have ever been the brightest, prettiest or sanest productive member of society but she damn well had better self control than this, even if 'this' was perfectly reasonable behaviour for a shell shocked nervous breakdown. At least the big green... um, person?... was for the most part level-headed and somewhat agreeable, if not arrogant, rude and scolding the rest of the time. At least she could relate to him, he was like a broody bear-man with too high an opinion of himself, pretty much like Jerry, her supervisor from work. The other one, the annoying, short red one, reeked of pure adolescent twit; again, relatable. Maybe... maybe these aliens were just like human people and Susan just needed to open up and make a friend, which always made new circumstances bearable.

Opening her eyes as she released a long drawn out breath through her nostrils Susan looked over to the two males engaged in conversation. She was feeling calmer now, approachable even and willing to at least attempt diplomacy with an alien race.

"-entertain it." Wy'strn moaned. "It has been driving me crazy since it woke the first time. I'll let you play with it for a while but if I discover so much as a paw, alluring look or attentive gesture that makes my ooman uncomfortable I will castrate you, Rat'ein."

"Yes, hunt brother!" The younger male nodded furiously, a giddy expression smudged across his face. "You have my word I will not do anything dishonourable."

"Hurm." Wy'strn snorted and sighed into the loving embrace of his book.

Susan was about to open her mouth to apologize or something, she wasn't actually sure what she was going to say but the general gist was a theme of building bridges. Instead, her eyes widened, and her gaping mouth clicked shut as Rat'ein skulked towards her, pulling up a cushion from the pile and sitting on it in front of the kneeling female. Forgetting her initial inner turmoil having come to a resolution to make friends, Susan scowled at the young male grinning ear to ear before her and tucked her hands into the recess of her armpits for defensive purposes.

"How do I greet it, Wy'strn?"

"What?" He was caught unawares at first before making his answer. _"Hello."_

"_Hee'low."_ Rat'ein repeated looking directly at the human fighting back a snort of amusement at the alien's pronunciation.

"_Hi."_ Susan waved a lazy hand.

"_Hi-I"_ The young male mimicked her lazy wave before pointing at himself. _"Rat'ein."_

"_Uh?"_ She cocked her head watching him stab his pectoral with a haphazard finger.

"_Raaaaat –eee-en."_ He sounded out his name for her as she watched him, bored.

"_Rat."_ She finally responded as he shook his head and tried to get her to say his name again.

"_Rat'ein."_

"_Rat."_

"_Rat'ein!"_

"_No, you're a Rat_." Susan tittered through her palm before pointing at herself this time. _"Susan."_

"_Surk-ven."_ Rat'ein tried desperately to get the correct sounds to leave his constricting larynx. _"Suuuuk-ven."_

"_Suoooo-Sen!"_

"_Suok'ven."_

"_Su'van"_ Wy'strn helpfully imputed his version of her name to add to the list.

"_Fine! Whatever! Su'van!"_ Susan gave up, not wanting to hear anymore butchering of her forename. _"You! Who are you?"_

"_Wy'strn."_ Grunted Wy'strn indignantly at the digit shoved in his direction.

"_Right, good."_ Susan sighed, knowing all too well this was going to be a very long, slow conversation about very little. _"Rat and Wanker, nice to meet you."_


	18. Chapter 18 Rocks in the sky

**I held back a scene from this chapter for the next one. Didn't want to overwhelm you with the beginnings of plot lines. Also, sorry if there was errors, I'm a bit dizzy at the moment so I can't trust myself to know what I've even written over the last hour.**

**Enjoy!**

**Pronounciation:**

**Jen'yaya – Jen – Yay!- ya (Jenny)**

* * *

**Chapter 18 Rocks in the sky**

Ke'laith wondered the open cargo hold, swiping codes of supplies and trade goods into his wrist computer, attempting to mark off every item of inventory to be shipped down to the main vessel. The medium sized hunting ship still hadn't quite managed to accumulate a full complement of crew and hunters, even with Rat'ein now on board, and the female Gor'ah having departed the day previous to return to her normal dwelling. With the two third capacity, their current bundle of trade items was not the largest bounty in history but at least it was easier to count and shove off the ramp. According to his requisition logs though, they were looking to gain a few upgrades this time around and even the new engineer they had requested ever since the previous had got himself eaten by a giant ant like creature. Lari did good work but he was no engine expert and there was only so much a pilot could do to keep his lady ship purring for him.

Leaning against a large boxed crate, Ke'laith filtered through his wrist console for further information on the new crew member. Someone to talk to up in command during the quiet turn over's between star systems and outposts would certainly be a welcome addition. The young male often fought the bite of loneliness at the helm, nobody to talk to but the ship and the gremlins, whilst the hunters trained, bathed and communed with one another. It appeared they were getting a young female yautja, her social status appeared confusingly low for a member of the opposite sex; _perhaps a mistake on the logs_, he mused. On the other hand she could also just be the spawn of two low ranked parents or even the daughter of some bad-bloods, come to join the clan. Either way it didn't matter, it was a she after all, a female only he would have intense company with.

Hearing a scuffle of feet motion up the ramp between hunting ship and clan vessel, Ke'laith turned to see a head bobbing above the crates looking around bewildered. He presumed it was the new crew member, it was definitely a female anyway and she appeared to be searching for purpose on the ship. Upon seeing the pilot eagerly watching her approach she paused to cling to the edges of some stacked boxes and eye him with wary intent. Ke'laith smiled, waving her over, curious to see more of the floating face in the sea of cargo.

"You are the new engineer?" He pushed away from the crate he was leaning against as she cautiously drew closer. "I am Ke'laith, the pilot and ships requisition officer."

"Uh, Jen'yaya." She stopped in front of him, her eyes darting wildly around at things below his eye level before adding, "That is my name."

Her voice was soft, soothing and broken with sharp stutters of nervousness. He was surprised the moment she came into direct view, finding her a good nose length shorter than him, and her tone wasn't the only thing so soft and unnaturally fragile about her. Her body was slim, drawing the appearance of warmth and subtle cure; not the norm of lean, muscular physic that demanded respect. She appeared to be almost lacking in any kind of muscularity, replaced with squidgy looking areas. It was almost disgusting if most of the extra flesh hadn't of landed perfectly on her chest creating an ample handful each of the mammary glands. It was strangely feminine and motherly but horribly soft at the same time, he could scarcely tell if he was attracted or the polar opposite to her smaller form.

"Have you worked anywhere before here?" Ke'laith attempted conversation whilst his mind continued to address the problem of attractability.

"I-I, uh... I was the secondary engineer for the Lan'daleon then I worked on the clan ships reactors for a few years." She whispered tentatively. "I was asked to... to... uh-come onboard your ship yesterday."

"So abruptly?" He titled his head admiring her dark eyes as they sparkled with something a kin to worry and naivety. "How old are you?"

"I-I...uh..." Taken aback by the sudden question, Jen'yaya shuffled uncomfortable and looked directly down at her feet. "I'll just... find a room..."

"No, no." Ke'laith stepped closer, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "Forgive me, I did not mean to offend you Jen'yaya. Let me guide you around, I know where the unoccupied quarters are."

"Thank you..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes planted firmly on her feet until the male released his grip on her shoulders.

"Have you any belongings to carry?" He hoped to be helpful and at least carry the female's baggage as further apology.

"Uh-No." She shook her head timidly. "Just this bag."

"But that is a very small bag." Ke'laith frowned from concern at the small satchel flung over her shoulder.

"I do not need much..." Her voice grew quieter still, so he had to strain to hear the words, as if she were trying to convince herself rather than her companion. "This is enough for me. For now."

"I see." Ke'laith smiled at the female trying to catch her eye but failing to engage her attention. "This way, Jen'yaya."

They walked in silence for some time, winding their way from the cargo hold until reaching the labyrinth of corridors that was the ship proper. Ke'laith felt rather disconcerted that a female was walking behind him like some submissive creature, nothing like this had ever happened to him before; he was no high ranker. On the other hand he had decidedly more power house tissue than her and that was saying something. Ke'laith had never been one you'd consider particularly strong and agile, he was just at a manageable fitness. The young male knew better than to have any hopes of his chances against a warrior but that wasn't the point of it; instead the point was to appear able enough to cause some damage if attacked that would make another predator think twice about receiving injury in the first place. Nobody wanted to be out of commission for any length of time and in its way his modestly toned body was a negotiation tool of sorts. This female, however, was all skin, bone and soft portions of fat moulded on a slight form and given life. She had no strategic use in a fight, just dead weight and something to protect; but that didn't mean he couldn't find the thought of curling up to her a striking prospect. He was sure all her soft velvety texture had its desirable qualities.

"Jen'yaya?" Ke'laith peered over his shoulder to see the smaller female blink up at him. "May I ask you something pe-"

A door slid open ahead of the pair making them both stop in their tracks as a rust coloured yautja disembarked his friend's apartment. Ke'laith watched the female pull up alongside him, watching the other male with eager interest and presumed she was awaiting some introduction.

"Rat'ein?"

"Yes, Ke'laith?" The young hunter came to a halt in front of the pair, a grin as wide as a canyon threatening to split his head in two.

"This is our new engineer, Jen'yaya." Ke'laith gestured a hand between the pair to highlight who was who. "Jen'yaya this is Rat'ein, our youngest hunter."

"Greetings hunter." She breathed hesitantly, unable to take her eyes off the male in front of her.

"_Hello."_ Rat'ein chuckled in the human language then thumped his chest in a sign of farewell.

"What did he say?" Jen'yaya, turned around so she could continue to follow the male out of sight, a hand clenched tightly against her chest.

"I do not know." Ke'laith sighed, realising by the blush and heat brought to the females deep mottled green and yellow skin tone, as well as the rush of her heart beat, her affections were already stolen away from him before given the chance. "It sounded ooman."

"Oh." She breathed the sound out, still watching the space where the hunter had disappeared at until a new sound caught her attention.

The door slid open again but this time revealing a much larger male intent on business. The intensity in this yautja's eyes was enough to snap Jen'yaya out of her revering of her new crush and make her slide to Ke'laith's side for protection. The action did not go unnoticed, by either male in the cramped corridor, one finding the closeness heart soaring whilst the other finding her fear puzzling.

"Jen'yaya, this is Wy'strn another hunter on the ship." Ke'laith nodded his respect to the older warrior.

"I cannot stay and chat." Wy'strn dipped his head in response to Ke'laith then again to the cowering female. "My history class is waiting."

"We will not take up your time then, hunter." Ke'laith moved aside to let the other male pass then turned to his final companion and gave her a reassuring smile. "Come, Jen'yaya this way."

"Is there not... quarters that way?" She pointed in the direction Rat'ein was last seen.

"No." He lied, a little too well admittedly, catching on to her rouse. "There are plenty down this section."

* * *

The next few days went by in an array of general tedium for Susan. Wy'strn went out, to work she guessed, he then came back some numerous hours later with Rat'ein and she had to play a game of teach the alien to speak English. She had to confess, rat-face was getting to grips with her language a lot faster than she could fathom his; not that he was trying very hard to teach her. She supposed he must have thought she sounded like the hooting mess of pronunciations he did to her. Still, he could at least manage sentences of English now, Susan on the other hand could barely get to grips swearing at someone and that was always the easiest part of learning a new dialect.

Between the hours of sarcastically felt joy, listening to two alien's calling her 'Su'van' and being alone in the increasingly cramped apartment, Susan did very little. Mostly she slept, or tried to sleep, took long showers, sometimes flicked through her pet alien's books unable to read them but finding the pictures amusing or at one point rearranged the furniture. That had been fun, until Wy'strn came home of course and scolded her for the three hours it took him to move everything back. She wasn't even sure what day it was anymore, let alone time. Those concepts had no meaning in space anyway; it was permanently the deepest sector of night outside and oh so very boring locked in a flat all day. _At least the foods good_, she mused picking at something pink and blue on her plate over dinner. Wy'strn of course, didn't eat with her, he just came in from where ever he had been eating in the world beyond the door and brought her what she presumed were leftovers.

One day, Susan was sure she was going to escape; or kill everybody in a mass murder from the stress of being cooped up and then escape.

It wasn't until the next morning, left alone yet again in the lonely apartment that she truly understood just how crazy she was getting. She caught herself talking to her reflection then swore violently at the air. Protest was in order but there wasn't very many avenues open to her at this point. She could make a mess, but that only brought about the wrong kind of attention from the master of the house. No, this needed tact, guile something even Wy'strn could not ignore.

Running her fingers through her hair as she left the warm spray from the shower, Susan sighed at the hopelessness that ached inside her chest. She felt like a caged animal, powerless and abused. Looking at her reflection in the mirrored wall she followed the connecting lines of silvery scars running down the length of her body until reaching up and finding the thin stripes running down the left side of her face; where the beast of nightmares past had raked its claws. It hadn't healed too badly, a little denting of the skin above her eyebrow but for the most part it just looked like an oddly green glowing tattoo. She could work this, like she could work being naked, Susan chuffed at the thought then exited the bathroom leaving her attire behind. At least now she had her rebellion, going nude until someone noticed she was pissed off.

* * *

Gor'ah sat on her bed, sharpening her tools of the trade. This activity always helped ease the tension that built in her mind over time from over thinking. Her current train of thought was unavoidable this time, however, and of serious note. Gor'ah was pregnant. Worst still, she was carrying Rat'ein's seed.

This new predicament was something in need of great deliberation; things were not yet set in stone. Less than a handful of weeks had passed since conception but still a definitive choice was looming near, awaiting approval or shunning. If she chose wrong then two lives would be inevitably upset or ruined. The sire was a proven hunter; a prodigy of his age that none of his fellow generation had yet to live up to. Not even Rat'ein's sire, Thei'wei-dor the clan elder, had set such precedent in skill and accountability of trophy collection as his son had in only four years of adulthood. Then again, the stone dropped on the opposite counterweight too. The male was soft, seeking weak and feebleness; desiring that which he should not, cannot have. Dark twisted thoughts lingered in that young males mind that shook Gor'ah to her core, something un-yautja in appearance dwelt there and she only hoped the warrior would see himself clear of the darkness.

If she had this males pup what would it be? Strong and skilled like its father, warped and demented? One, the other or both? Nobody could tell, not even Paya herself would be able to judge the outcome of this child. For the first time in her life, Gor'ah was scared. Not for herself, but for the unborn life form snuggling close inside her womb for warmth and nourishment.


	19. Chapter 19 We are not friend or foe

**Sorry for the delay. This has been sitting on my desktop for 3 weeks missing the final paragraph. I've been distracted of late and I was kind of getting sad from my inadequate amount of reviews compared to the amount of faves. I love faves but it's nice to hear what people think too. Want to improve you know.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 19 We are not friend or foe**

Wy'strn entered his apartment tired from a hard day of teaching witless pup's how to form satires and the mandatory training hours that came with being a hunter. He'd also gained a rather complimentary gash on his left arm after Lari had got lucky with a set of daggers. He teased at the mending flesh with his thumb then closed the door behind him, prepared for his human's banal greeting.

As the human in question wandered out from the bedroom, the scent of sleep and the light sweat she accumulated from the heat of the room in an aura about her, Wy'strn stopped breathing a moment as his eyes widened at her newest mischief. She was naked and wondered into his general direction with a curt wave and 'hello' before disappearing into the shower. The large warrior shook his head and grunted in mirth at the creatures display before cracking his neck and going about the arduous task of care for his weaponry. He supposed he should probably inform Rat'ein not to come today, with the female acting so strangely he might become allured by her unclothed body. Then again, maybe seeing how horribly spongy the human was would turn Rat'ein's misplaced lusting away for good. It sounded like a plan of some persuasion anyway.

When Rat'ein did finally attend his ritualistic evening of English lessons the human female was still naked, sitting on a pile of furs and looking at a book she could not read. Wy'strn often wandered what amusement the yautja symbols gave his pet but thought better than to ask. Opening the door to his apartment Rat'ein greeted him with a short bow of the head and stepped inside, welcomed by his fellow hunter. As the younger male sought out the female his breath hitched for a split of a second before he caught his reaction and idled closer taking a seat in front of the smaller creature. Wy'strn joined him this time, relaxing into the cushions beside his fellow hunter, keeping an eye on him.

"_Hey Rat."_ Susan waved a hand as she slid her book across the floor, much to Wy'strn's annoyance, and grinned with mischief.

"_Hello, Su'van."_ Rat'ein was stiff like a board unwilling to allow any body movement in case he gave something away. _"You look... healthy."_

"_Is that so?"_ Susan cackled with delight at the expressions on the two male's faces and took the chance to wind them up further by bringing her legs up to either side of her arms, leaning a forearm on each knee.

Both hunters clicked indolently as the decidedly female scent wafted up through the air. If not for the exposed patch of fur in between her thighs Wy'strn was sure he would have been slightly more carried away than he was. He needed to go out and find a yautja female, now!

"Rat'ein, do not succumb to the ooman's teasing."

"Huh... yes, hunt brother." Rat'ein looked away from the females display and stared deliberately at a fierce looking skull on the wall. "I will behave myself."

"I will kill you otherwise." Wy'strn growled his warning as he disappeared out the front door.

Now feeling uncomfortable, left alone in an apartment with Rat-face the pervtard, Susan quickly crossed her legs and peered in the direction of the bedroom with her clothes. It was too late now however, he was already looking directly at her with a strange come hither look in his eyes doing battle with a stern rigid outlook. Coughing lightly into a closed fist Susan took a deep breath and hardened her features. She could at least give him a 'go fuck yourself' glare if not having the physical strength to beat him stupid.

"_Why?"_ He asked, pointing at her general visage.

"_Why?"_ She looked down at her own body then back up meeting the alien's gaze. _"Because I'm upset with Wy'strn."_

"_Oop-srrut?"_ Rat'ein sounded out the new word, not liking the texture of it on his tongue. _"What is this?"_

"_Upset?"_ Susan looked baffled as she tried to explain the words meaning to a hunter who spoke very little in the first place. _"Upset is... It is..."_

Pulling an over dramatic sad-face she sniffed a few times in fake misery then pointed at her face. Rat'ein merely cocked his head, not understand her facial expressions, until the little female grumbled and tried to will herself to cry. As a solitary tear brimmed into life and cascaded her cheek he lent forward and tried to catch it, recalling this eye dampness from an earlier encounter, but was slapped away.

"_What are you doing?"_ Susan frowned, watching him with a steady glare, until he returned to his straight backed sitting position.

"_Uh..."_ He didn't know the words to express himself. _"Take water."_

"_What? It's fine. I was showing you 'Upset'."_ She fluffed a hand around at her dramatised sad face again, receiving only a confused look. _"You don't get it... Ugh... The door, Wanker locks the door, I can't go out. Trapped inside here."_

Rat'ein blinked at her strange gestures, creating a sort of instructional dance with her arms, but followed where ever she pointed to none-the-less. He reasoned, from what she was doing, that the female didn't like Wy'strn's quarters or being in Wy'strn's quarters. She was trapped and caged like an animal.

"_Upseeet."_ He repeated the word. _"Wy'strn, you, here no kill."_

"_Wanker, me, here no kill?"_ Susan thought about it for a few moments before coming up with a translation of a poor translation. _"Wanker keeps me here so I'm not killed?"_

"_Yes."_ Rat'ein nodded enthusiastically; sure the female would no longer be upset now she knew the reason for her confinement. _"Wy'strn keep you here not kill."_

"_Yeah... good point."_ Susan grumbled, looking around the too hot room, and sagged beneath her own misery. _"But... I'm lonely."_

"_Lonely?"_

"_Lonely..."_

She looked up into the hunter's eyes, the look within them needing no translation, he understood perfectly. Leaning forward he stroked his digits down from the top of her head to the edge of her cheek, tracing the scar that ran there. She was captivated, heat rising to her cheeks as the realisation of how similar their eyes really were dawned on her. Susan hadn't comprehended how truly lonely she actually was until she found herself sitting there with an alien she vaguely despised allowing him to touch her. Was she really thinking about this? Thinking about letting him continue his path forward into her personal space, lay her down and give her a good seeing t-

Her line of thought was instantly broken as he pulled away slowly, letting his hand linger a few moment to cup her chin tenderly. Rat'ein snorted knowing full well just how close he had been, how it would probably never happen again, but he was proud of himself; he had resisted. He tilted his head to the side dropping his hand lower to clasp her shoulder, in friendly companionship, and flexed his mandibles in a happy sort of expression.

"_Su'ven no lonely."_ He shook her a little. _"Su'ven and Rat'ein."_

"_Su'ven and Rat'ein... yeah."_ She looked down at his hand, still placed tentatively on her shoulder and covered it with her own.

The main door swished open allowing Wy'strn to stomp inside, like a man who's been turned down on a booty call one too many times, before it closed again on its own accord. The older warrior stared at the pair for a moment, noting the way their hands were intertwined, and then snarled viciously diving for the younger male. Rat'ein barely had enough time to prepare himself for the attack as he was sent skidding across the ground with a very angry yautja on top of him.

"RAT'EIN!" Wy'strn bellowed like some Norse god. "I told you NEVER to touch my ooman!"

"I didn-" He was cut off by a fist lodging into his eye socket followed by a second as he battled to heave the bulkier male from his torso.

Shocked by the entire occurrence Susan scuttled off as fast as she could into the bedroom. Leaning her back against the wall she listened to the clicking, snarling and thuds of the fight chewing her nails distractedly. It sounded as if it was getting seriously violent in there, she needed to stop it, stop being a scared child hiding and stop them. Looking down she grabbed up her clothes, shifting the skirt into place then exited the room still wrapping the sash around her chest.

"_STOP IT THE PAIR OF YOU!"_ She shouted like a mother hen only to be ignored as the two boys continued to tussle and fling each other about the room. _"HEY!"_

Tying a knot to keep her top in place she stormed into Wy'strn's war room and took a rather painful looking knife off the wall. When she returned Wy'strn was in the process of throttling Rat'ein against a wall he only stopped when a dagger implanted in the wall barely an inch from his face. Both hunters stopped what they were currently doing to turn and stare at the sharp implement in disbelief.

"_FEMALE!"_ Wy'strn, having completely forgotten Rat'ein and dropped him like a brick, and charged over to the small human furious. _"What have I told you about my weapons?!"_

"_That I'm not to-Ah!"_ She shrieked, narrowly missing a set of sharp claws, and dived between the angry hunter's legs to escape out the other side. _"Wy'strn you need to calm the fuck down!"_

"I agree with the ooman, hunt brother." Rat'ein held his hands up in front of him, requesting peace, whilst Susan hid behind him. "Let me explain."

"There is nothing to explain!" Wy'strn snarled, slamming his fist into a conveniently placed wall, but began to compose himself. "Get away from her Rat'ein!"

"She is following me." He frowned looking briefly behind at the fragile form clinging to his back. "You have scared her."

"Then toss it back over here. It is an animal and will only stop clinging to you when you show it you are dangerous."

"No." The younger warrior straightened his back, letting his arms fall to his sides in a show of defiance. "You are being unreasonable."

"I walk in here, find you groping my ooman and you believe me to be unreasonable?"

"Yes hunt brother."

Wy'strn drew in a deep breath, puffing his chest out magnificently, and then exhaled with a steadily decreasing growl. The small human peered out from behind the younger warrior, eyes wide with a mixture of terror and fury; her hands gripped at his waist for support and protection. Right now, Wy'strn became suddenly aware, he was the endangerment to his own charge.

"Explain. Quickly." The older hunter visibly relaxed, crossing his arms in a defensive posture but ready to listen to reason.

"Su'ven explained to me the reason for her teasing." He began, getting directly to the heart of the matter. "You have angered her. She does not like confinement."

"It is for her own benefit!"

"I know, hunt brother." Rat'ein raised his right paw to hush his friend. "I explained this to her but then she told me she was lonely. I was merely trying to comfort the female as I would yourself. The contact was that of companionship I assure you."

"How do you explain the overpowering scent from the female in this room?" His eyes slit dangerously.

"Is her arousal really my error?"

"Perhaps not." Wy'strn reverberated into life with alien mirth. "I am surrounded by sexual deviants."

* * *

"Ke'laith?"

Ke'laith turned away from the stall of decorative artefacts he was admiring to locate the source of his name. A huge grey haired yautja, draped in deep red fabrics, awaited his attention with a pleasant continence. It took the pale pilot a moment to truly comprehend the importance of the male in front of him and abruptly bowed as low as his body was comfortable with descending. A hand touched his head ever so lightly, coaxing him back up to stand; much to the younger male's confusion.

"Your obedience is appreciated but it is I who has come to you, Ke'laith son of Larik." The elder gestured for him to follow as he began strolling to some dark corner of the market. "I am Elder N'aphui, I am- I was a friend of your fathers."

"Yes, elder."

"He was an influential man."

"Yes elder."

"And he died with honour." N'aphui grabbed the younger yautja's shoulder and shook him proudly. "We were all quite surprised that he managed to survive those four days in the pit. He was wise in years; even a young hunter would not have survived such battle for so long."

"Yes elder." Ke'liath didn't like where all these compliments were leading.

"I hear you are the only one close to your brother, Lari."

There it was; the impending question of doom he had been waiting for so anxiously. The glint of political sincerity in the elders eye a twinkle with mischievous intent. Ke'laith leaned back against a ornate pillar, folding his arms in defiance, and appeared to mull thoughtfully over his answer to such a question.

"I do not think Lari is close to anyone, elder."

"But you have his ear better than anyone?" The tone of flattery in the older yautja's voice was thick and sticky.

"I would not wish to presume so much." Ke'laith shrugged and straightened his posture. "But it is possible we share amicable moments from time to time."

"Indeed." He grinned widely, his mandibles a splay and his eyes almost humorous. "I would ask that you pass on a message to your brother. Tell him that Elder N'aphui would like to speak to him of your late father and that certain favourable gestures may be at hand. Perhaps even his one goal in life could be made available to him far sooner."

"Yes... elder."

"That is all, Ke'laith." The elder clapped him around the shoulder and shook him one last time. "Perhaps we shall meet again, son of Larik."

Ke'laith watched him go; a frown followed by a low growl deep inside his chest accented his aura when the other male was clear from sight. This was worrisome, enraging and at the same time intriguing. He would tell his brother but add a message of his own in hopes he would listen; do not trust the political minded of our race.


	20. Chapter 20 Authors note

**Authors note**

I am very sorry. I know it has been months but things have been intense. Just to let you know I am writing this again. I have half a chapter written at the moment but I'm a bit out of practice so please bare with me.


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